Oleg SIDOR-GIBELINDA
HAI, RIDDLES TO QUESTION

Alphabet of his images is sufficiently modest. Nu; Two; Raider, and enough. The painter revents to them ten, hundred times – and each time creates them in a different way ( sometimes even add to them something really unexpected, such as run of the red train through the fields). At that – with no encroachments to surface virtuosity, and with true and unlike artistry. He paints easily, plainly and even carelessly. Pieces of unpainted canvas – practically a rule. Oh, this impetuous non finito!

As a rule are taken also the pieces of dark: forbidden lately by impressionists, but here they sound almost festive. He is not afraid of te sudden spots of paint, which would be for sure rubbed away by the painter-pedant…But for Guy they are just the maestro’s gesture, maestro who is griped with uneven unexpectedness of life. So his art is not only his passive reflection, but also integral part – from which, by the way, appears total naturalness, with which these work blend with the modern interior. Begad, I used to belive what my own eyes see!

His Raider is full of stern dignity, peculiar to the sculptures of Marino Marini. ( Whether it is a simple coincidence, or the artist just lately was invited to take place in Florence biennale? Italy is calling, feeling its sumpathic from far away). In the portraits – nu – sacred revelry of the French “ charming period”, known by us from the paintings and graphics by Raul Dufi, paintings of Ogust Roden. From the short time-period of the 20th century, when the value – finally? – gain such life pleasures as a nudity of a beautiful woman, truth of pacified horse, Haiety of a self-expressed person. But is it true that in the last time?

Our painter all his listed qualities depicts on canvas with a new inspiration. Faded faces, sun-tanned bodies, from time to time shaded with blue color in zones of nates and thighs, and confident contour fighting the environment chaos. Eeryday authenticity is no clincher here, it gives place to chimeric melody of voluntaric image. His brush is singing it, like sun clarinet, the notes of which is safely hidden from our eyes. After all, each of his paintings is a concert … with many indeterminations.

The final situation is on the palm. Game rules were set from the very beginning. But further there is only the mass of enigmas and painting mystery. Sergiy Hai is gripped by the enigmas himself, and attaches us to puzzle them out. Before our eyes is cutting out the established flow of life and sircumstances, which as in the prose of Moris Blansho, remains undisclosed till the end. Hai’s painting – is the painting of enigmas, but any person “ affected with the high illness of highness” could understand it. Watch, and you will see!

Olga PETROVA
artist art historian Extra Doctor of Philosophy the member of UA of Ukraine Professor of National University of Kyiv-Mogyla Academy Academian of Saint-Peterburg Academy of Humanities

Artistic world of Lviv citizen Sergiy Hai is expressively individual, refined and even aristocratic. This painting created for those who in his own life is connected to art and is happy to find a real pearl in unlimited world of artistic production.

The trace of French art, organic enough to blend with the Lviv art during all the 20th century is obvious. But the plots of the Hai’s canvases – is paradigm not only about the human face and body, but also about the secret of spirit, settling in the close shell. In all coming under his brush, we feel the echo of academic training, observation of a real analytic, who can see the most important things in each gesture, each movement, and create from all these pantomimically perfect sign.

Art of Sergiy Hai represents “ his almighty – painting” in clear self-performance. The author is master of huge laconic combinations. Usually composition is built on two or three dominating colors. But in this only there are so many nuances, tonal, vibrating as the petals on wind transitions, so many colors. Like on the canvases painted red, the emerald greenery settle fire of all the composition. There are so much refined tints: from black and warm brown to ultramarine and light lemon glimmering, cold, like the sheen of sun in spring water. Artistic subject of canvas is movable and it seems that the observer was present on the process of painting himself. In everything, created by Hai is present the aura of glimmering color of stained-glass. For those who can watch and see, this color extravagance – is unspeakable enjoyment.

The world of Sergey Hai is autonomous, his art has its own face, and can not be mixed with some other. But this individuality has a double nature: as much concrete as intangibly teasing and that’s why especially beckoning by its style, painting, complicated surface of canvases.

Color layers sometimes resemble the surface of stark magma – composition style is performed like mosaic, or painted by light glazing, or spontaneously drawn, even harrowed by sharp blade.

In this newly found world the signs, colors and images influence the observer like the reality itself. The emotion, hot passion of author is transferred to “ others”, transformed in the observer’s emotional feelings, who, like bewitched pilgrim, has already been taken prisoner of colorful whirl, universe, dreamed and created by S. Hai. Even more so, the author has never betray either freshness of view or his skills.

Alla ROGERS
Alla Rogers Gallery (Washington, USA)

Nowadays in Ukraine there are plenty works of art, those on which you can look and those which you can think over. Never had we such stylistic variety and such an explosion of sensible manifestations in graphic art, as during the first ten years of Ukrainian independence. In time when fastidious
and competitive net of galleries all around the world is selecting the most talented and interesting artists, we at last admit the existence and achievements of the artists that withstood in this soulless and merciless world of business. Thanks to in-depth progress that includes great efforts of artists and galleries owners, new thrilling talent comes finally into the field of vision.
Today in the list of modern Ukrainian artists Sergiy Hai – is the one you are to reckon with. In his forty years he has behind artistic education, received in Lviv Academy of Arts and striking history of exhibitions. Origin
of his creative work you can find in traditions of modern painting of the sitter. And when we look at the Hai’s paintings, the whole galaxy of the prominent artists of the 20th century, such as Matis, Schiele, Nolde, Modigliani, de Kooning and others arises before our eyes. Hai’s paintings could be reduced to sensibly curved lines and clear expressionist gestures in the context of beautiful color balance, even in most melancholic end of spectrum. The size of most of his canvases – three forth of represented reality.
The pictures radiate strong emotions and spontaneity, which the artist reproduce through clear touches of paint, scratches and also interflow of colors and forms.
In modern Ukraine there is not huge but quickly growing quantity of faithful collectors of art works. Foreign businessman and diplomats, that know more about the art, buy masterpieces of modern Ukrainian art, and even several pieces at a time. New generation of businessmen hire architects
and designers to create elegant modern urbanistic buildings in Kiyiv, Lviv and Odessa. The masterpieces of Sergiy Hai take their honorable place among new generation of Ukrainian collectors of art works.
When Western Europe, Great Britain and USA saw the works of Sergiy Hai, he was recognized as artist. The world is observing him, enjoying him and will collect his works during long time.

Dmitriy KORSUN, artist
ARTIST SERGEY HAI

“The world consists of nudity and creases,
and in the later there are even more love then there is
in human faces…”
I. Brodskiy, “ Rome elegies”.

Painting of Sergey Hai is a precious framing for modern loft. These canvases
are addressed directly to the cosmopolitical sphere, to the heart of huge megapolises, whether it is New-York or Moscow, Tokyo or London. Possibly that the atmosphere of Lviv city has told upon the individual creative
manner of the painter. This ancient European city gave the painter his first lessons of format, color, style, poetic generalizations. The style of the ancient city walls of Lviv possesses special esthetic authenticity, where antiquity,
closed and forgotten, appears to be the most concealed, desired golden layer.
The painter seems to be obsessed with large-scale rhythms, blocks of color contrasts, enriched with complicated general cultural associations. His work are very architectonic, it is a real color architecture, sometimes brutally-gedonistic and sometimes tenderly-constructive. In his every painting
strong classical tradition, monumental canon, deep whirl of figures in baroque style, their dynamic statics are invisibly present. Full press of emotional conditions is resided for painting, ant it is even seems to be a real limit for the language of painting. The author interprets his emotions and conditions in large color contrasts, and he, like the painters of the Renaissance, has learned truly feelings and thoughts by means of depicted human body. Artistic forcing of color to the limits coterminous to the shock one, and real presence of the open black contour, as a logical challenge of anti-color lets his masterpiece to experience all plenitude of chromatic scale. Black color, contour, line, spot, outline – all this is his differential sign and is perceived in the color orchestration of the painting as a resonant African echo – wild, fearless and sacrificially beautiful.
Sergey Hai learnt to create by his masterpieces nearly the same thing that Joseph Brodskiy created in his modern poetry. Syncope of excited dissonances has outnational, all-men nature. And this timeless music grips all the hard plane of his painting from the beginning to end. To the particular
quality of painting special careful work on canvas texture should be referred. This painting could be either smooth or clear, lightly performed. According to stubborn logic of development and evolution this is starking mass of rough paint carrying the traces of dramatic fighting, strident musical
cadence, nervous exhaustion.
In Hai’s painting sure step of modern urban civilization, such global in its full swing, but all in all worthy to embody the modern image of beauty
according to unshakable canon humanistic values, is clearly heard and seen.

Tatyana MIRONOVA
Mironova gallery

Oh, this Hai, tremendous and fantastic!
Pleasing and non-pleasing but always impressive.
His works are elegant and subtle like Egypt temples. How beautiful are female figures on his canvases, figures, that summon by the sexuality of majestic Godnesses.
Hai – is color. The colors of his life are represented on the canvases. They are candid, and at the same time mystically- secret. They are breathing with ingrained light. Paints are philosophizing with each other. Composition
of several colors turns into variety of tints.
Style of his paint is mosaic, but integral.
Oh, this Hai! Festive, carnival, thoughtful. The world of his art is explosive, gripping, deeping in unexplainable delight.
Such a world could create only the MASTER.
Are you agree…?