Hanna Samarska

Biography

Hanna Mykolaivna Samarska (maiden name Kosiachenko) was born on December 1, 1941 (according to her passport, January 15, 1942) in the village of Bohdanivka, Kyiv region, the birthplace of Kateryna Bilokur. At the age of ten, she met the artist and became her student; this friendship lasted until the end of Bilokur’s life and shaped the future artist’s worldview.

After high school, Hanna Samarska entered the Kyiv Art Institute, then worked in the varnish painting department of the Kyiv Souvenir Factory, where she met Marfa Tymchenko from Petrykivka. Later she moved to Petrykivka and worked at the Druzhba factory from 1961 to 1992.

Hanna Samarska is the only representative of the older generation of Petrykivka craftsmen who was not born or educated in the Petrykivka area; she learned the basics of painting under the indirect influence of Kyiv craftsmen.

Artistic Practice

Samarska has developed her own recognizable style that combines Petrykivka ornamentation with Kateryna Bilokur’s instruction to “learn from nature.” Her stylized flower and the “fluffy” tails of birds are particularly popular, techniques that have been adopted by many contemporary artists. Along with traditional bouquets, plates, and decorative panels, she created the painting cycle “My Land, My Ukraine.”

Recognition

Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine (1981). Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (since 1977). Member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine. Laureate of the Kateryna Bilokur Prize (2009). People’s Artist of Ukraine (2013). Honorary resident of the villages of Bohdanivka and Petrykivka. Author of the album “My Land, My Ukraine” (Dnipropetrovs’k, 2008).