Yana Hudzan

Yana Hudzan (b. 1994) is a painter from Ukraine. She has been named one of top 30 emerging artists in Ukraine.

Hudzan graduated from the Department of Artwork Restoration at the Lviv National Academy of Arts in 2016 and continued her studies in the Department of Sacred Art in 2016–18. She came to her own painting style and technique through the study of iconography, which is characterised by symbolism and inner light, expressiveness of composition and image as a sign.

In her work, she combines realistic elements with transparency and inner illumination offset by grey. The iconographic expressiveness of the images is based on this contrast. In her art, Hudzan often refers to Ukrainian folk motifs and symbols, understanding how deep and multi-layered the Ukrainian national cultural source is. Her artworks are in private collections in Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium.

Hudzan’s exhibitions include “Berehyni: War Flowers” (Contemporary Art Center, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, 2022), “Berehyni” (Ukrainian Art Week, Belford, Bruges, Belgium, 2021), “365dayshelter” (an online exhibition in Ukraine, Croatia, China, Portugal, 2021), “Second Ukrainian Biennale of Levkas” (White World Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2021), “Immunity” (Korsakiv Museum of Contemporary Ukrainian Art, Lutsk, Ukraine, 2020),  “Nature Morte” (Lviv Coffee Manufacture, Lviv, Ukraine, 2020), and “Icon Painting International plein airs” (Zamlinie, Volyn region, Poland – Ukraine, 2017–18).

In the words of Hudzan:

“After massive terrorist attacks by Russians throughout Ukraine, I felt that it was dangerous to stay in relatively peaceful Lviv. I started applying for art residencies and the first one that responded was the Artist at Risk, who offered me a residency in Tampere, Finland. 

The main goals of this residency for me were safety, good conditions for creativity and work, and mental recovery in a calm environment, which this program fully provided. It’s a pity that I didn’t manage to get admission to the graphics workshops at the local art center and learn new techniques. However, at this moment I have created several landscapes, a diptych called Trees of Life for publication in Vogue Ukraine, and a painting Memory wall that is three metres long.”

Yana Hudzan is an ARTISTS at RISK (AR)-UNESCO Resident at Tampere Artists` Association in Tampere, Finland, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals.