Andriy Naboka

Ukrainian textile artist Andriy Naboka’s art career started the same way many young artists begin.  He experimented with several mediums ranging from acrylics, oil and watercolor to develop his talent in creating representational art.  From landscapes to flowers, each medium provided challenges as well as solutions.  And then the war came and everything stopped.

Creating art had suddenly become a luxury.  The priority immediately shifted from creating art to doing his part defending his beloved Ukraine.  Being unable to serve in the military due to medical reasons, Andriy volunteered wherever he could.  One of these service moments would change his life as an artist.

He had volunteered for a group that met to hand-tie camouflage netting from strands of torn olive green and gray fabric.  This netting would be used by the Ukrainian military to conceal their weaponry.  On this day, one of the volunteers had mistakenly used colorful red, yellow, and orange shreds of donated fabric in a portion of the netting.  What was seen as a fatal flaw in the netting awakened the mind of this artist who immediately saw the beauty of the colors and the texture in the torn fabric and Andriy knew that this medium would become the passion for his work.

The colors and textures of torn fabric would replace his paints, watercolors, and brushes.  He would create stunning work by weaving the fabric into amazing works of art.  And yet, how was he to display his body of work in the midst of daily missile attacks and city-wide blackouts?  Andriy found a way.

He felt it was important for the spirit of the Ukrainian people to have a sense of normalcy whenever possible.  With the help of friends, they assembled an exhibition of his textile artwork in the basement of the Opera House in Kiev.  With the blackouts in place, this exhibition was illuminated by candlelight.

It was also during this time that Andriy met Santa Fe filmmaker Luke Fitch of Altitude FX.  Luke was on assignment in Ukraine and Andriy had volunteered to act as Luke’s interpreter.  A strong bond between the two was soon formed and with Luke’s help, Andriy eventually found a way to visit Santa Fe along with his art.