Yaroslav Motyka: traditions with a modern spirit

Yaroslav Motyka has worked in a wide range of media, from monumental sculpture to small forms and ceramics. Born in 1943 in the Ternopil Region, he graduated from the Lviv Art School and Institute of Decorative and Applied Arts, where he studied with prominent artists Dmytro Kravavych and Danylo Dovboshynskyy. His graduation work, the landscape gardening figure Lileya (1966), still adorns the pond in Stryy Park in Lviv. Yaroslav Motyka's works can be found in other cities of Ukraine and abroad. Among the most famous monumental works are the monument to Colonel Yevhen Konovalets in Zhovkva; lions standing at the entrance to the Lviv City Hall; a monument to Markiyan Shashkevych in the village of Nestanychi, Radekhiv district; a sculpture of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Busk; and a monument to the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus in Belgium. Some of his works are in museum collections. For example, the Madonna and Child, the Intercession of the Mother of God, Jesus Christ the Thinker, the Madonna and Child, and a portrait by Shatkivsky are in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ukraine in Kyiv. Motyka also created memorial sculptures in memory of famous cultural figures, which were installed at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv and Baykove Cemetery in Kyiv.

A large part of Yaroslav Motyka's oeuvre is made up of ceramic plastic of small forms. This aspect of the sculptor's work was influenced by the Motyka family's trip to Havarechchyna, a small village in the Lviv Region that was a famous centre of black-smoked ceramics. The artist's family lived among local craftsmen for several years in a row and learned the craft of black-smoked ceramics. Among other things, Yaroslav Motyka created small-scale portraits of Havarets potters, which can now be seen at the exhibition in Olesko Castle. You can learn more about the opening of the black-smoked ceramics centre and the Motyka family's agency in this process in the Lviv Skansen at the exhibition Black Fire of Havarechchyna curated by Roman Zilinko.

Motyka's work is distinguished by its deep symbolism and connection with national roots. He skilfully combined traditions with the spirit of modernity. Motyka was an attentive observer, looking for inspiration and creative energy in everyday things and in nature. Nevertheless, his works are not devoid of irony, reaction to socio-political processes and his own searches.

The sculptor's artistic family is also worth mentioning. Yaroslav's wife is a master of artistic ceramics and graphics. His daughter Mariana teaches at the Lviv National Academy of Arts and is a master of painting and graphics. The Motyk family worked side by side for many years in workshops and expeditions. 

In 2022, a large exhibition of Motyka's works ‘Ya Mo’ was held in Lviv at the Ya Gallery art centre, and in 2024 he presented his works at his first solo exhibition in Kyiv. Until his last days, Motyka remained active in art, collaborating with various institutions and even helping veterans from the Nezlamni rehabilitation centre through creative projects.