Ukraine, 1974
Oleksii Khmyrov is a pronounced artist working as a freelance commissioned painter/ graphics artist and a stage background designer for more than 25 years. His paintings and graphic works can be found in the private collections of Canada, the USA, Finland, Southern African Republic and Ukraine. Being a graduate of the Odesa Hrekova Art School, the Odesa Ushynskyi State Pedagogics University and studying several years in the Odesa Architecture University, he coned his mastery on cityscapes and landscapes and on a series of portraits performed in the best tradition of Southern Art of the area. The artist worked on a series of the Mennonite Heritage paintings commissioned by the Mennonite Society in Canada between 2002 and 2020. Apart from participating in exhibitions in Ukraine, he had his shows twice in Canada: 2016, in a private house in the Niagra-on-the Lake area, during the Ukrainian Mennonite Event and on 13 October 2018 in St. Catharines Mennonite Church during the Thanksgiving Event marking the centennial of the safe movement of the Mennonites to Canada from the torn by wars and the Russian Revolution Russian Empire. The Odesa Opera House and Musical Comedy Theatre can be proud of the scenery created by Oleksii. As a theatre artist, he created the scenery for Aida, Prince Igor, Don Quichotte, Carmen and etc. Now the artist keeps working in a war-shaken Odesa, Ukraine, even in the adverse conditions of almost daily shelling, often without electricity, heating or water. Even in such surviving conditions he continues to believe in healing power of art and devotes every time and effort to this.