On October 3, 2019, O.O.Osmerkin Museum hosted the presentation of the exhibition of works by famous artists from Odesa, Merited Artists of Ukraine Anatolii and Halyna Kravchenko. Also, a themed catalog “Watercolor Ukraine: Odesa – Kropyvnytsky” was presented. The catalog was created in cooperation with Odesa Regional Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine initiated and supported by the owner of the gallery “Elisavetgrad” Mykola Tsukanov within the museum art project to Artist Day “In the Artist’s Studio”. The project is aimed at popularization of the creative work of Ukrainian artists and presupposes organization of personal exhibitions and publication of catalogs with interviews and contemplations of the artists on art and life, reproductions of their works, that brightly reflect their creative searches.
    Anatolii and Halyna Kravchenko are graduates of Odesa State Art College named after B.M.Hrekov and Ukrainian Polygraphic Institute named after I.Fedorov in Lviv. The artists work in the technique of watercolors, monumental painting, and book graphics. Favorite genres are landscape and still life. The couple took part in the restoration of the wall paintings of Opera and Ballet Theatre, philharmonics, and important cultural buildings in Odesa. Active participants of all-Ukrainian and international art exhibitions and plein airs, including the ones within the International Festival of Watercolors in Fabriano in Italy; are members of the organizing committee of all-Ukrainian and International exhibition “Sea of Watercolors”. Numerous joint personal vernissages were successfully presented in many cities in Ukraine and abroad. Works are kept in the collections of the leading art museums in Ukraine, as well as in private Ukrainian and foreign collections.
    Organization of the current exhibition of works of Merited Artists of Ukraine Halyna and Anatolii Kravchenko in Kropyvnytskyi is not a coincidence because Anatolii Kravchenko has visited our town many times, participated in different art plein airs – “Art Plein Air – 2017” dedicated to the 125th anniversary of O.O.Osmerkin (2017) and the National festival “Kropyvnytskyi” (2018).
    About 50 watercolors by the artists created between 2003 and 2019 are presented at the exhibition. They brightly reflect the genre preferences and peculiarities of the individual artistic style of each painter.
    Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Mosin congratulated the painters from Odesa on the vernissage. He expressed gratitude on the behalf of Mayor Andrii Raikovych for great creative work and that their paintings depict our town of Kropyvnytskyi. The head of the Regional Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Andrii Khvorost, scientists of the Regional Art Museum Anatolii Kimnatnyi and Hanna Nedilska also congratulated the artists on the exhibition opening. A famous journalist from Odesa Oleksandr Varihin mentioned that Anatolii and Halyna Kravchenky always organize collective exhibitions because it is their creative principle. Complementing each other they create incredible vernissages full of optimistic emotion and contemplations on the sense of life. The museum staff presented the painters with traditional souvenirs – cups with the image of the museum building and a themed catalog of the exhibition, which was presented by its compiler a leading researcher, Merited Artist of Ukraine Andrii Nadezhdin.
    The most emotional was the speech by the head of Odesa Regional Organization, People’s Artist of Ukraine Anatolii Horbenko, who by the way, was born in our town. He told about his colleague and his deputy head, about the creative work of the couple and asked the artist to show what he keeps in his painter’s case on his waist. Everyone present was surprised to see a small album, paints, and a brush. The artist said that while they were driving from Odesa to Kropyvnytskyi, he added several paintings to his creative collection.
    Anatolii Kravchenko gave a speech also on the behalf of his wife, who couldn’t be present at the exhibition opening because their younger daughter Viktoriia entered the College of Art and needs assistance. The painter told with Odesa humor and respect to our steppe town to which he confessed his love. He mentioned that the presentation of the exhibition in Oleksandr Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum is a great honor for them. He also presented all the exhibited works to the museum collection.