maryna bilak
art maryna bilak
марина білакхудожниця марина білак
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Working against Time is at its Heart
Caring Hands Review in American Republican 10/01/19
художниця марина білак
художниця марина білак
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
CARING HANDS at Mattatuck Museum
CARING HANDS at Mattatuck Museum, September 22nd, 2019 - January 5th, 2020
Address: 63 Prospect St, Waterbury, CT 06702
Opening reception Sunday September 22nd, 1pm-3pm
Artist talk at 2pm
Maryna Bilak's art address the process of caring for someone with Alzheimer's Disease - in this case, the artist's mother-in-law, Dorothy. Bilak explores the different roles that the act of caregiving requires from each person involved. Caring Hands is a series of 18 plaster casts the artist created from hands of those who work with Dorothy. This exhibition will take place on the second floor at Rose Hill, Mattatuck Museum.
marynabilak
marynabilak artist
mattatuckmuseum
www.marynabilak.com
художниця марина білак
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
HUDSON
— Hudson Hall presents Maryna Bilak: CARE, an exhibition documenting
the unseen process of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s—in this case,
the artist’s mother-in-law, Dorothy. Through charcoal drawings, fresco,
sculpture, and painting, Bilak’s installation delves into the different
roles that the act of caretaking requires from each person involved,
including the patient herself.
The exhibition opens with a reception with the artist on February 2nd, 2019 from 5 to 7 p.m, featuring a performance of an original song composed for the exhibition by Memphis-based pianist Michael S. Jaynes. The piece is inspired by Jaynes’ own experience caring for his mother,also an Alzheimer’s sufferer. Molly McCann, MHA, Associate Director of Programs and Services: Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, at the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York will also be speaking. Maryna Bilak: CARE is curated by Emily O’Leary and is on view until March 17.
Dorothy—mother, patient, older woman, mother-in-law—is the conceptual and often physical nexus for each work in CARE. In a series of traditional charcoal portraits, Dorothy is depicted chronologically, starting with softly rendered images of girlhood that evolve gradually into more harshly rendered scenes of the subject in the last vestiges of the disease. The small-scale frescos provide limited glimpses into Dorothy’s features—an eye, a mouth—and reflects on the disintegrated and fractured mental state that accompanies Alzheimer’s. The installation focuses on the tangible and intensely personal, incorporating clothing, nail clippings, hair, and plaster casts of hands and feet.
A series of cast-off hangers, clothing, including a headboard that once belonged to Dorothy turned on its side, becomes a delicate, conceptual artwork. By engaging directly with these objects, they adopt newfound significance and become an artistic language in which Bilak speaks to the experience of what it is to be a caregiver.
“This body of artwork was created as a response to the long-term care provided by my husband, Maurice and I to his mother, an Alzheimer’s sufferer,” she says. “This project is about life with a mentally and physically disabled person, and all the dedication, sacrifice and responsibility that comes with it. It is about mother, son, and artist. It is about a family,” she says.
Born in the Carpathian Mountains in West Ukraine, Maryna Bilak received her first MFA from Subcarpathian National University (Ukraine). After, she studied at Balassi Bálint Hungarian Cultural Institute in Budapest (Hungary), Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), and in 2014 received her second MFA from New York Studio School. Since 2001 Maryna has exhibited her work in Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, and USA. Her recent solo show Buon Fresco/Fresh was featured at John Davis Gallery. Maryna lives in Hudson, NY, with her husband Maurice Haughton, daughter Irina and her mother-in-law Dorothy.
The exhibition opens with a reception with the artist on February 2nd, 2019 from 5 to 7 p.m, featuring a performance of an original song composed for the exhibition by Memphis-based pianist Michael S. Jaynes. The piece is inspired by Jaynes’ own experience caring for his mother,also an Alzheimer’s sufferer. Molly McCann, MHA, Associate Director of Programs and Services: Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, at the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York will also be speaking. Maryna Bilak: CARE is curated by Emily O’Leary and is on view until March 17.
Dorothy—mother, patient, older woman, mother-in-law—is the conceptual and often physical nexus for each work in CARE. In a series of traditional charcoal portraits, Dorothy is depicted chronologically, starting with softly rendered images of girlhood that evolve gradually into more harshly rendered scenes of the subject in the last vestiges of the disease. The small-scale frescos provide limited glimpses into Dorothy’s features—an eye, a mouth—and reflects on the disintegrated and fractured mental state that accompanies Alzheimer’s. The installation focuses on the tangible and intensely personal, incorporating clothing, nail clippings, hair, and plaster casts of hands and feet.
A series of cast-off hangers, clothing, including a headboard that once belonged to Dorothy turned on its side, becomes a delicate, conceptual artwork. By engaging directly with these objects, they adopt newfound significance and become an artistic language in which Bilak speaks to the experience of what it is to be a caregiver.
“This body of artwork was created as a response to the long-term care provided by my husband, Maurice and I to his mother, an Alzheimer’s sufferer,” she says. “This project is about life with a mentally and physically disabled person, and all the dedication, sacrifice and responsibility that comes with it. It is about mother, son, and artist. It is about a family,” she says.
Born in the Carpathian Mountains in West Ukraine, Maryna Bilak received her first MFA from Subcarpathian National University (Ukraine). After, she studied at Balassi Bálint Hungarian Cultural Institute in Budapest (Hungary), Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), and in 2014 received her second MFA from New York Studio School. Since 2001 Maryna has exhibited her work in Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, and USA. Her recent solo show Buon Fresco/Fresh was featured at John Davis Gallery. Maryna lives in Hudson, NY, with her husband Maurice Haughton, daughter Irina and her mother-in-law Dorothy.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
The Rural We: Maryna Bilak
The Rural We: Maryna Bilak
Artist Maryna Bilak’s
Winter Star sculpture has been a highlight of Hudson, New York’s Winter
Walk for the past two years. Now, you can see more of her work in a new
solo show, “Care,” opening at Hudson Hall
on Saturday, Feb. 2. Through paintings, charcoal drawings, fresco and
sculpture, Bilak documents what it means to be a caretaker for someone
with Alzheimer’s and delves into the varied roles each person involved
plays, including the patient herself. Born in the Carpathian Mountains
in West Ukraine, Bilak studied in Budapest and Prague before receiving
her second MFA from the New York Studio School. She lives in Hudson with
her husband Maurice Haughton, daughter Irina and her mother-in-law
Dorothy.
I came to America in 2012 to study at the New York Studio School in Manhattan. It’s my second MFA, but the education was so different from my previous studies. It really changed me as an artist. I learned not how to make art but to ask myself why I do what I do. As I was approaching graduation, in 2014, I had a show in New York and one of the guests at the show was Maurice. He’s the reason I stayed in America. We got married and moved to Hudson, and now I have my art studio right next to the house, so I can work any time I want. Most of the art for this exhibit was made after my daughter was born; it was a very intense time. My daughter is the direct connection to my mother-in-law, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
We moved to Hudson in 2015, but the caregiving started five years
ago, when we were first dating. Most couples go through this after 20 or
30 years of marriage, but we were still in the romantic period. I
became the main caregiver for Dorothy when she was still mobile, but I
did all the cooking, I showered her, all these kinds of intimate things.
I was working in the apartment and I would sculpt or paint on the
terrace and she would watch me. When someone has Alzheimer’s, they are
losing their ability to smile, but sometimes she would smile and laugh
and we really had fun. I was so happy to see that she was happy. That
was the beginning of our relationship.
So many people say it’s beautiful and nice to be able to care for someone like this, but it’s extremely challenging and it’s more than artwork can express. It’s something that people don’t like to talk about. There’s a level of resentment. Many people forget themselves and dedicate themselves to the person who is sick. We talked to professionals on how to deal with it, because we felt like we were disappearing.
Having Dorothy progressing with the disease put some challenges on our relationship. Very often I would go to my studio for a break; I would escape there. I tried to convince myself that it was my happy place and my rescue, but all my thoughts were still focused on the everyday experience of sharing space with someone who is mentally and physically disabled. When the denial passed, I was standing in my studio and I starting seeing some patterns in my work. I started noticing it had those connections, so I decided to embrace my situation. My mother-in-law became my model and a great inspiration. She likes the attention and I love to make art. Her features are perfect for sculpture and painting. When she was posing for portraits, she was normal, but as soon as I was finished, she would go into another world that we don’t understand.
The fact that I’m an artist, and it was the only thing I never gave up, really saved me and my marriage. The art is about Dorothy, but also about me and my husband. The part of the exhibit called “Monologues” is writing, and it’s a representation of thoughts from different perspectives. There are 12 characters and I tried to figure out how each feels. Dorothy is shown as three persons: a mother-in-law, an older lady and an Alzheimer’s s patient. Maurice is a son, a husband and a man, and I’m a daughter-in-law, a wife and an artist. It’s about how we learn how to live with each other and go through the struggles.
This is only a tiny expression of my experience, and the variety of materials speak to all the varieties of situation that come with care. “Caring Hands” is a special work because it’s a collaboration. I invited everyone who helped us with Dorothy, who provided either physical or emotional support. I mixed plaster and they each held it in their hands until it set, about eight minutes. It’s a series of hands, installed on one wall, framed but with no names, so it’s anonymous. It’s very symbolic in that it shows how many people it takes to care for someone.
Another part of the exhibit is a series of plaster abstract sculptures. Dorothy would sometimes not recognize some of her clothing and would want to get rid of it. I collected the cloth and used it as material. I sewed it together like it was a body and poured liquid plaster over it. There was very little I could do to control how it set, which is just like being a caregiver.
The exhibit shows care but also how I help myself; there were tough moments and I felt very often weak and desperate and sorry for myself, which I hate. The artwork started not on a conscious level at first, but I approached my husband about the show and he was a little apprehensive. But the artwork was happening already, and then we started learning that there are so many families having to deal with this. Three people just on our block have someone who has this disease. He’s happy now because he thinks it helps remove the stigma. I hope with my show, it can bring awareness, and people can educate themselves. If Maurice and I knew more about it at the beginning, it wouldn’t have been as hard. Hopefully people can avoid the mistakes we made. And I encourage people to have something for themselves, in my case it was art-making, because it really, really saved me.
I came to America in 2012 to study at the New York Studio School in Manhattan. It’s my second MFA, but the education was so different from my previous studies. It really changed me as an artist. I learned not how to make art but to ask myself why I do what I do. As I was approaching graduation, in 2014, I had a show in New York and one of the guests at the show was Maurice. He’s the reason I stayed in America. We got married and moved to Hudson, and now I have my art studio right next to the house, so I can work any time I want. Most of the art for this exhibit was made after my daughter was born; it was a very intense time. My daughter is the direct connection to my mother-in-law, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
So many people say it’s beautiful and nice to be able to care for someone like this, but it’s extremely challenging and it’s more than artwork can express. It’s something that people don’t like to talk about. There’s a level of resentment. Many people forget themselves and dedicate themselves to the person who is sick. We talked to professionals on how to deal with it, because we felt like we were disappearing.
Having Dorothy progressing with the disease put some challenges on our relationship. Very often I would go to my studio for a break; I would escape there. I tried to convince myself that it was my happy place and my rescue, but all my thoughts were still focused on the everyday experience of sharing space with someone who is mentally and physically disabled. When the denial passed, I was standing in my studio and I starting seeing some patterns in my work. I started noticing it had those connections, so I decided to embrace my situation. My mother-in-law became my model and a great inspiration. She likes the attention and I love to make art. Her features are perfect for sculpture and painting. When she was posing for portraits, she was normal, but as soon as I was finished, she would go into another world that we don’t understand.
The fact that I’m an artist, and it was the only thing I never gave up, really saved me and my marriage. The art is about Dorothy, but also about me and my husband. The part of the exhibit called “Monologues” is writing, and it’s a representation of thoughts from different perspectives. There are 12 characters and I tried to figure out how each feels. Dorothy is shown as three persons: a mother-in-law, an older lady and an Alzheimer’s s patient. Maurice is a son, a husband and a man, and I’m a daughter-in-law, a wife and an artist. It’s about how we learn how to live with each other and go through the struggles.
This is only a tiny expression of my experience, and the variety of materials speak to all the varieties of situation that come with care. “Caring Hands” is a special work because it’s a collaboration. I invited everyone who helped us with Dorothy, who provided either physical or emotional support. I mixed plaster and they each held it in their hands until it set, about eight minutes. It’s a series of hands, installed on one wall, framed but with no names, so it’s anonymous. It’s very symbolic in that it shows how many people it takes to care for someone.
Another part of the exhibit is a series of plaster abstract sculptures. Dorothy would sometimes not recognize some of her clothing and would want to get rid of it. I collected the cloth and used it as material. I sewed it together like it was a body and poured liquid plaster over it. There was very little I could do to control how it set, which is just like being a caregiver.
The exhibit shows care but also how I help myself; there were tough moments and I felt very often weak and desperate and sorry for myself, which I hate. The artwork started not on a conscious level at first, but I approached my husband about the show and he was a little apprehensive. But the artwork was happening already, and then we started learning that there are so many families having to deal with this. Three people just on our block have someone who has this disease. He’s happy now because he thinks it helps remove the stigma. I hope with my show, it can bring awareness, and people can educate themselves. If Maurice and I knew more about it at the beginning, it wouldn’t have been as hard. Hopefully people can avoid the mistakes we made. And I encourage people to have something for themselves, in my case it was art-making, because it really, really saved me.
Maryna Bilak radio interview on WGXC with Ellen Thurston and Tom DePietro
Radio interview on WGXC with Ellen Thurston and Tom DePietro.
Section starts at 1:09:40
Discussing CARE project.
https://wavefarm.org/archive/sc594p
maryna bilak artist
www.marynabilak.com
Section starts at 1:09:40
Discussing CARE project.
https://wavefarm.org/archive/sc594p
maryna bilak artist
www.marynabilak.com
Maryna Bilak on Roundtable show with Joe Donahue, WAMC
Jan 29, 2019
Hudson Hall in Hudson, New York presents artist Maryna Bilak:
CARE, an exhibition documenting the unseen process of caring for
someone with Alzheimer’s — in this case, the artist’s mother-in-law,
Dorothy.
Maryna Bilak: CARE At Hudson Hall
maryna bilak
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Artist statement - CARE at Hudson Hall at the Historic Opera House, Hudson, NY
Opening reception on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m., featuring a
6:30 p.m performance by pianist Michael S. Jaynes.
The exhibition runs
through Sunday, March 17
Hudson Hall, 327 Warren St., Hudson.
Artist statement
Maryna Bilak
CARE
The reality of caring for someone with advanced Alzheimer's
is more insane than any work of fiction. I tried to convince myself that my
studio was my “happy place” and that art-making was my rescue. But my thoughts
all focused on the everyday experience of sharing an intimate space with
someone who is physically and mentally disabled. When the energy of denial
exhausted itself, I decided to embrace my reality and consciously navigate and
dedicate my creativity. Suddenly everything made sense. I stared and began to
see patterns in my artwork from the last five years—the time I have lived with
my mother-in-law. She became my model, and the body I watched and touched so
many times became an inspiration for the active studio process.
The work I have done for this project is only a tiny
expression of my experience which is as complex as it is difficult to define.
The verities of the materials speak to the endless cycle of care. Using different
media allowed me to work through different emotions. Clay, plaster, charcoal,
acrylic, wood, cloth, nails, lime, pigments among others learned to coexist.
There are no words and there are no colors to represent the
tragedy of Alzheimer’s disease and the impact it has on people providing care.
But no matter what the subject is, for an artist, good form comes first.
Without a good form there is no content.
This show is a resolution: to decline to be a hero and
refuse to be a victim. Every piece contributed to my process of releasing
strong, repressed emotions as a caregiver, as a daughter-in-law and as a wife.
Preparation for this show provided relief and served as catharsis of all the
struggle and frustration.
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Maryna Bialk and Molly McCann on The Roundtable Show at WAMC
https://www.wamc.org/programs/roundtable
January 29th at 10.30am artist Maryna Bilak will be interviewed by Joe Donohue on WAMC’S “The Roundtable” show. This show hosted Madeleine Albright, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Bob Dole, Steve Martin, Arthur Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, Maya Angelou, Stephen King, Melissa Etheridge among other A-list newsmakers, authors, artists, sports figures, actors, and people with interesting stories to tell.
Tune in on January 29th at 10:30am and listen to Maryna and Molly McCann, Alzheimer’s Association of Northeast NY Associate Director, discussing Maryna’s upcoming show CARE at Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House, which opens on February 2nd. Show curated by Emily O'Leary.
WAMC's The Roundtable is an award-winning, nationally recognized eclectic talk program. The show airs from 9 a.m. to noon each weekday and features news, interviews, in-depth discussion, music, and much (much) more! Hosted by Joe Donahue and produced by Sarah LaDuke, The Roundtable tackles serious and lighthearted subjects, looking to explore the many facets of the human condition with civility, respect and responsibility.
www.marynabilak.com
maryna bilak artist
марина білак
January 29th at 10.30am artist Maryna Bilak will be interviewed by Joe Donohue on WAMC’S “The Roundtable” show. This show hosted Madeleine Albright, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Bob Dole, Steve Martin, Arthur Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, Maya Angelou, Stephen King, Melissa Etheridge among other A-list newsmakers, authors, artists, sports figures, actors, and people with interesting stories to tell.
Tune in on January 29th at 10:30am and listen to Maryna and Molly McCann, Alzheimer’s Association of Northeast NY Associate Director, discussing Maryna’s upcoming show CARE at Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House, which opens on February 2nd. Show curated by Emily O'Leary.
WAMC's The Roundtable is an award-winning, nationally recognized eclectic talk program. The show airs from 9 a.m. to noon each weekday and features news, interviews, in-depth discussion, music, and much (much) more! Hosted by Joe Donahue and produced by Sarah LaDuke, The Roundtable tackles serious and lighthearted subjects, looking to explore the many facets of the human condition with civility, respect and responsibility.
www.marynabilak.com
maryna bilak artist
марина білак
Maryna Bilak at Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House, NY
ps://hudsonhall.org/2016/12/17/maryna-bilak-care
EXHIBITION ON VIEW FEBRUARY 2 – MARCH 17, 2019
Hudson, New York
OPENING RECEPTION WITH THE ARTIST: Saturday, February 2, 5 – 7pm
Through charcoal drawings, fresco, sculpture, and painting, artist Maryna Bilak documents what it means to be a caretaker for someone with Alzheimer’s and delves into the varied roles each person involved plays, including the patient herself. The exhibition is curated by Emily O’Leary.At the opening reception, Tennessee-based pianist and composer Michael S. Jaynes will perform Curvature of the Mind, a piece inspired by his experience caring for his own mother, an Alzheimer’s
sufferer.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in the Carpathian Mountains in West Ukraine, Maryna Bilak received her first MFA from Subcarpathian National University (Ukraine). After, she studied at Balassi Bálint Hungarian Cultural Institute in Budapest (Hungary), Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), and in 2014 received her second MFA from New York Studio School. Since 2001 Maryna has exhibited her work in Ukraine,Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, and USA. Her recent solo show Buon Fresco/Fresh was featured at John Davis Gallery. Maryna lives in Hudson, NY, with her husband Maurice Haughton, daughter Irina and her mother-in-law Dorothy.
марина білак
maryna bilak
www.marynabilak.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Maryna Bilak - CARE
Solo show - CARE
Hudson Hall at the Historic Opera House
February 2nd - March 17th
Reception with the artist February 2nd, 5-7pm
An exhibition documenting the unseen process of
caring for someone with Alzheimer’s—in this case, the artist’s mother-in-law,
Dorothy. Through charcoal drawings, fresco, sculpture, and painting, Bilak’s
installation delves into the different roles that the act of caretaking
requires from each person involved, including the patient herself. The
exhibition opens with a reception with the artist on February 2nd,
2019 from 5 to 7pm, featuring a performance of an original song composed
for the exhibition by Memphis-based pianist Michael S. Jaynes. The piece
is inspired by Jaynes’ own experience caring for his mother, also an
Alzheimer’s sufferer.
Molly McCann, MHA, Associate Director of Programs and Services: Diversity
and Inclusion Initiatives, at the Alzheimer's Association of Northeastern
New York will also be speaking.
Show is curated by Emily O'Leary.
www.marynabilak.com
artist maryna bilak
марина білак
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