The Art of Tamara Hordova: Synthesis of Traditional Decorative Painting and Author’s Plastic Innovations

This paper aims to introduce into academic discourse a new artistic figure—Cherkasy-based artist Tamara Hordova— by exploring the distinctive features of her work and tracing her creative journey from the Tsvitne artel to the development of her unique poetics. A key objective is to collect and systematize information about Hordova’s oeuvre from diverse sources, including materials from the Soviet era. The research methodology integrates general theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison, and theoretical generalization) with specialized approaches such as biographical and iconographic analysis, as well as cultural, axiological, and art historical methods. The scientific novelty of the study is in the systematic analysis of Tamara Hordova’s artistic language, particularly the interplay of decorative, graphic, pictorial, and design techniques—seen as a synthesis of traditional decorative painting and contemporary plastic innovations. The most comprehensive bibliographic index of publications on Hordova’s work is also presented. The study concludes that an art historical examination of Hordova’sstyle necessitates an exploration of the origins of her distinctive image-concepts, which are deeply rooted in family tradition. The formation of a shared visual lexicon and the historical-cultural contexts of its emergence (e.g., the Tsvitne artel), as well as the fusion of national decorative traditions with individual aesthetic expe- rience, are shown to be essential. Hordova’s work is grounded in the archetypes and symbols of national culture, which she transforms into a sign-symbolic universe through graphic design and painterly expression. Notably, her practice is marked by a unique form of self-expression that blends the sensibilities of both artist and poet, reflecting the existential worldview of the contemporary Ukrainian woman.