WIZZ MAGAZINE
/
21
PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK
T h i s I s
M y C i t y :
Ky i v
Sculptor Nazar Bilyk gives his take on the
Ukrainian capital he now calls home
P EO P L E
culptor Nazar Bilyk graduated
from the National Academy of
Arts and Architecture in Kyiv.
Now a lecturer at the National Academy
of Fine Art and Architecture, several of his
one-man exhibitions have been held in Kyiv
and abroad.
Rain
,
one of his most beautiful
sculptures, can be seen in Peyzazhnaya
Alleya (‘Landscape alley’).
●
I was born in Lviv, not in Kyiv,
but I’ve been here for 32 years now and
consider myself a fully fledged Kyivan.
My grandfather, also a sculptor, received
a large order for a monument in Kyiv and a
new position at the Kyiv Academy of Arts,
and so our family moved here.
●
I have a favourite road in Kyiv,
–
the Parkovaya Doroga (‘Park Road’).
It dissects a wooded park on the banks
of the Dnieper river. I like
it any time of the year, but
it is at its most beautiful
in winter, when heavy,
snow-covered tree branches
form a natural ‘tunnel’ for you
to pass through. Every time I
drive through it, I think how
beautiful it is, and enjoy a
few minutes of peace within
this city’s chaotic rhythms.
●
For a special dinner,
I have a friend who swears
by Prague Restaurant
(
praha-restaurant.com
),
in Holosiivskyi Park. It was
considered a high-class
location as far back as Soviet times. The
food is second to none and the service
superb. Personally, I prefer something a little
more simple. Recently I enjoyed dinner with
friends at Restaurant Tarantino (
tarantino.
kiev.ua/en
)
at Sagaidachnogo Str 35 in the
Old Podol. It offers fresh, flavoursome grilled
meat, and is a charming venue.
●
Kyiv is very beautiful,
thanks to its
hillside location. Driving across the Darnitskiy
Bridge, there are spectacular views to your
left. Witness the breadth and grandeur
of the city; the handsome Dnieper, the
gold domes of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (which
I strongly advise everyone to visit) and the
Cathedral of St Sophia.
●
Mistetskyi Arsenal, the National
Cultural-Art and Museum Complex,
is one of the most exciting art projects in
the Ukraine and a contender for world’s
top art museum. The recent Fine Art
Ukraine exhibition was fantastic. This May,
Shevchenko: Status Quo in the 21st Century
commemorates the 200th anniversary of the
Ukrainian writer and poet.
artarsenal.in.ua
S
CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP:
NAZAR’S
RAIN
SCULPTURE;
KYIV-PECHERSK
LAVRA; NAZAR
BILYK
