The art of magical realism shows a seemingly ordinary world, which, however, differs from normality. It is expressed in strange contrasts, mysterious complexes of people and places, or in chaos of objects and people.
Oleg Denisenko, born in 1961, in Lviv, has been creating this kind of art for years. In 1992 he graduated from the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Ukrainian Academy of Printing. He does painting, sculpture, graphic design, artistic book and calligraphy. Winner of 28 international awards and distinctions. Participant of over 200 exhibitions in Ukraine and Europe. His works are in museums and private collections around the world. Together with the artists Roman Romanishin and Konstantin Kalinowicz, he is considered the founder of the Lviv graphic school.Unusual works of the artist (especially graphics obtained from engraved zinc or aluminium plates) reaching somewhere to the world of fairy tales, fantasies, medieval allegories and miniatures, are also inspired by the ethnic art of the Carpathian highlanders. His works impress with their precision, even with their laciness performance. The seemingly normal world is mixed with metaphysics, it enters into surrealism slightly, pushes the limits of every viewer’s imagination. In his graphics, winged bearded figures or figures with a bushy moustache, in armour or specific headgear (with a bird’s nest on their head) hold various attributes: weapon, musical instruments, key or sceptre. This art is a secret admiration of magic combined with a real form of existence. In the magical realism of Oleg Denisenko, we are dealing with the transformation of ordinary everyday life into an intriguing story. It is more than just a picture. It is the expression of the artist’s internal questions and struggles expressed in various forms.
