Andriy Petrovskyi Еarly Years Artistic Approach: from the Glassblower to Professional Artist

Andriy Petrovski is widely recognized in Ukraine’s artistic community, particularly in Lviv, as well as abroad as a glass artist. In 2024, he was awarded the Regional Prize of Lviv oblast (region) named after Zenoviy Flynta in the field of culture, literature, art, journalism, and architecture for his series of creative works titled “Thoughts about…”. The series was created between 2021 and 2024 and is likely to continue. Andriy Petrovski's art pieces are in high demand on the international market, being sold on global online platforms such as Artsy and Wright, as well as featured in various auctions. However, his path toward becoming a professional artist remains relatively unknown. His formal and informal mentors in the glassblowing and, subsequently, glass art were glassmakers from the Lviv Ceramics and Sculpture Factory (LKSF) and a generation of glass artists who were the pioneers of the studio glass movement in Ukraine, exactly in Lviv, particularly A. Bokotey and F. Chernyak. Based on interviews with the artist himself, this study reveals the phenomenon of his creative method, which began to take shape during his time as a master glassblower at the Lviv Ceramic and Sculpture Experimental Factory and continues to evolve today. Using photos provided by the artist and the data gathered during interviews, the article describes the visual and artistic-plastic characteristics of his glass works. It also analyzes the artistic and conceptual aspects of his creations, starting with his earliest experiments in serial production at the LKSF, followed by his exploration of form and artistic language during his studies at the Lviv Academy of Arts to his first independent works. One of the defining characteristics of Petrovski’s glass pieces has been the use of colorless glass and experiments with materials that could give it color and texture. At the same time, he explored form itself and its possibilities, particularly its scale, in creating large-scale glass sculptures – an important professional challenge for the young artist.