New Poltava

Zenovia Shulha is a textile artist, professor at the Lviv National Academy of Arts, a kilim expert and collector, as well as a curator. As a native of Hlyniany, Professor Shulha has kilims running in her bloodstream, which is evident in the way she approaches the execution of classic kilim patterns. The traditional Poltava kilim arrived in Lviv together with Volodymyr Peshchansky, around 1920, from eastern Ukraine and was further adapted by artists associated with Mikhail Khamula's weaving workshop in the spirit of Modernism. Iit evolved even further, now in the spirit of Postmodernism, thanks to Zenovia Shulha. The floral vine motif seems to appear then disappear, it tears, duplicates like a glitch on a computer screen. This is the nomadic nature of kilim patterns, which, processed by successive generations of artists, constantly breathe new life into this unique form of craftsmanship.