Victor Osetenko (1939−2018) is a professional artist. In 1959 he graduated with honors from the Odessa State Art College. Grekov (South Russian Academy of Arts). Freelance student at the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts (1959).
Victor’s father was the head of the fire department of Odessa and the head of the security of the city’s seaport. At his insistence his son graduated from the Children’s Academic Art School, the Academy and became a professional artist. In the USSR, an artist was a profession.
Victor Osetenko 26 years (official post 1973−1999, but in fact since the early 60s) was the chief artist of Odessa: speaking in modern terms — visualizer, designer of the city. His paintings were purchased by the Ministry of Culture for the museums of the Soviet Union. Victor Osetenko was awarded the state Repin Prize for the best portrait. He was represented in the permanent exposition of the Kiev State Museum "Pharaoh Hall", which exhibited paintings of only the best national artists of the USSR.
Victor’s father was the head of the fire department of Odessa and the head of the security of the city’s seaport. At his insistence his son graduated from the Children’s Academic Art School, the Academy and became a professional artist. In the USSR, an artist was a profession.
Victor Osetenko 26 years (official post 1973−1999, but in fact since the early 60s) was the chief artist of Odessa: speaking in modern terms — visualizer, designer of the city. His paintings were purchased by the Ministry of Culture for the museums of the Soviet Union. Victor Osetenko was awarded the state Repin Prize for the best portrait. He was represented in the permanent exposition of the Kiev State Museum "Pharaoh Hall", which exhibited paintings of only the best national artists of the USSR.
"Victor Osetenko is the Van Gogh of Eastern Europe, the brightest representative of East European impressionism and expressionism"
Gabriela Schade, chief curator of the Dresden Gallery (Germany)
Victor Osetenko had a special pass-certificate to the strategic objects of the cities — Odessa and Ilyichevsk sea ports. From here came a series of historical paintings depicting seagoing ships, builders and port workers. The Black Sea Shipping Company was the largest fleet both in the USSR and in the world. Thus Osetenko’s works acquire a special value, being a chronicle of the port life of those times. These paintings were presented at exhibitions of national economic achievements in Moscow and Kiev. Central Television from Moscow shot a documentary about the artist and produced a TV program.
Victor Osetenko was lucky — he was personally acquainted with the first cosmonaut on Earth, Yuri Gagarin. Viktor Ossetenko’s brother was in the personal guard of Nikita Khrushchev (head of the USSR) and was a friend of Gagarin — they studied together in the cosmonaut squad (under this impression, Viktor named his son Yuri).
A big milestone in his work was a series of paintings devoted to cosmonautics. The Black Sea Fleet had research ships that tracked satellites, ships and space in the world’s oceans — until now, no other state in the world has built anything like this. With the collapse of the USSR, the ships were sold for scrap. Thus, Victor Osetenko was a chronicler of the development of cosmonautics and the fleet in the USSR — his paintings are not only works of art, but also historical artifacts!
Viktor Osetenko did not use the Internet or a cell phone, but only accepted insights from the Divine Providence, relying on his large library and collection of albums of world artists (banned esoteric literature). After the collapse of the USSR he graduated from the Institute of "Human Development" and was involved in Western, Eastern philosophy, spiritual practices (communicated with Roerich’s son and has his autograph on the album, painting in the Roerich museums and religious dioceses in Ukraine and the world).
Victor painted until the last day of his life. He chopped and knocked down sub-frames himself. Primed his own hands and stretched the canvas. He walked (he never had a car), drew subjects from real life with his own eyes, spent days and months staring at the chosen object, professionally "went to the Image" in the finished painting. He prepared for each picture thoroughly, relying on facts from literature and academic education. He finished according to the canon, and even composed a still life in accordance and symbolism of fruits, objects and colors.
Victor Osetenko held the position of Chief Artist of the city with a large salary, and he did not have to live off the sale of his paintings. Only paintings were sold as official state purchases by the Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union for the country’s museums (one must keep in mind the Stalinist "fear in blood": under the Communist regime, selling paintings as additional earnings in Soviet times correlated to the criminal article on unearned income). A second serious motivator for the artist not to sell his paintings was the conviction that all his work should be before his eyes: as from painting to painting he rose higher and higher in his creative perfection.
Victor Osetenko was lucky — he was personally acquainted with the first cosmonaut on Earth, Yuri Gagarin. Viktor Ossetenko’s brother was in the personal guard of Nikita Khrushchev (head of the USSR) and was a friend of Gagarin — they studied together in the cosmonaut squad (under this impression, Viktor named his son Yuri).
A big milestone in his work was a series of paintings devoted to cosmonautics. The Black Sea Fleet had research ships that tracked satellites, ships and space in the world’s oceans — until now, no other state in the world has built anything like this. With the collapse of the USSR, the ships were sold for scrap. Thus, Victor Osetenko was a chronicler of the development of cosmonautics and the fleet in the USSR — his paintings are not only works of art, but also historical artifacts!
Viktor Osetenko did not use the Internet or a cell phone, but only accepted insights from the Divine Providence, relying on his large library and collection of albums of world artists (banned esoteric literature). After the collapse of the USSR he graduated from the Institute of "Human Development" and was involved in Western, Eastern philosophy, spiritual practices (communicated with Roerich’s son and has his autograph on the album, painting in the Roerich museums and religious dioceses in Ukraine and the world).
Victor painted until the last day of his life. He chopped and knocked down sub-frames himself. Primed his own hands and stretched the canvas. He walked (he never had a car), drew subjects from real life with his own eyes, spent days and months staring at the chosen object, professionally "went to the Image" in the finished painting. He prepared for each picture thoroughly, relying on facts from literature and academic education. He finished according to the canon, and even composed a still life in accordance and symbolism of fruits, objects and colors.
Victor Osetenko held the position of Chief Artist of the city with a large salary, and he did not have to live off the sale of his paintings. Only paintings were sold as official state purchases by the Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union for the country’s museums (one must keep in mind the Stalinist "fear in blood": under the Communist regime, selling paintings as additional earnings in Soviet times correlated to the criminal article on unearned income). A second serious motivator for the artist not to sell his paintings was the conviction that all his work should be before his eyes: as from painting to painting he rose higher and higher in his creative perfection.
Yuri Osetenko (born 1967) is a professional artist, restorer of icons and paintings. Graduated as a teacher of drawing and painting (1987). President of the public organization "Spirituality of Odessa" since 2013.
Yuri has thirty years of experience in art and all this time informatsionno supports the work of his father — Victor Ostenko.
Since 1989, opened an antique shop (and himself sponsored and sold two artists), and at the same time invested in the promotion of his father’s art at the information level.
In 1999, Yuri invited his father to make a joint exhibition entitled "Temples. Spirituality of Odessa", using his pictures of the middle of the XX century and up to now, which depict all the places of worship of Odessa and temples of the leading world religions. They have been preparing this exhibition for about ten years. The first exhibition with the blessing of the Roman Catholic Bishop took place in 2009, then in 2011, 2013, 2018, 2022.
Osetenko Jr. received the blessing of the rectors of the churches: the Christian churches, the chief rabbi of the city and other world faiths to hold this exhibition (the Roman Catholic Church invited them first). It is not known about any artist except Michelangelo, who had an exhibition in the cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese belonging to the Vatican. This exhibition became the face of the city. It was held in the famous Odessa Sea Station, which is opposite the Potemkin Stairs, famous all over the world from Sergei Eisenstein’s movie "Battleship Potemkin". Exhibition statistics: 35 000 people visited the exhibition in one year. The Odessa Mayor’s Office also placed the exhibition in the City Hall gallery, in the city’s Diocese. The head of the main police department invited Yuri with a lecture to consecrate the exhibition. There is a lot of press, television, and video on the Internet about this exhibition (can you please collect the links to the video?).
With the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch in 2013, the exhibition was taken on a private plane to Israel-Jerusalem, Bethlehem for Easter.
Odessa is a global example of peaceful cohabitation of all nationalities and faiths in one city.
From 2014 to 2018. Yuri lived and worked as a restorer in America with the blessing of the Metropolitan of All America. In San Francisco, he restored the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan. Due to his father’s death in 2018, he returned to Odessa.
Yuri has thirty years of experience in art and all this time informatsionno supports the work of his father — Victor Ostenko.
Since 1989, opened an antique shop (and himself sponsored and sold two artists), and at the same time invested in the promotion of his father’s art at the information level.
In 1999, Yuri invited his father to make a joint exhibition entitled "Temples. Spirituality of Odessa", using his pictures of the middle of the XX century and up to now, which depict all the places of worship of Odessa and temples of the leading world religions. They have been preparing this exhibition for about ten years. The first exhibition with the blessing of the Roman Catholic Bishop took place in 2009, then in 2011, 2013, 2018, 2022.
Osetenko Jr. received the blessing of the rectors of the churches: the Christian churches, the chief rabbi of the city and other world faiths to hold this exhibition (the Roman Catholic Church invited them first). It is not known about any artist except Michelangelo, who had an exhibition in the cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese belonging to the Vatican. This exhibition became the face of the city. It was held in the famous Odessa Sea Station, which is opposite the Potemkin Stairs, famous all over the world from Sergei Eisenstein’s movie "Battleship Potemkin". Exhibition statistics: 35 000 people visited the exhibition in one year. The Odessa Mayor’s Office also placed the exhibition in the City Hall gallery, in the city’s Diocese. The head of the main police department invited Yuri with a lecture to consecrate the exhibition. There is a lot of press, television, and video on the Internet about this exhibition (can you please collect the links to the video?).
With the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch in 2013, the exhibition was taken on a private plane to Israel-Jerusalem, Bethlehem for Easter.
Odessa is a global example of peaceful cohabitation of all nationalities and faiths in one city.
From 2014 to 2018. Yuri lived and worked as a restorer in America with the blessing of the Metropolitan of All America. In San Francisco, he restored the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan. Due to his father’s death in 2018, he returned to Odessa.
The miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan before and after restoration.
During his lifetime, seeing his son Yuri’s ambitions and experience in the art business, Victor hoped to see his paintings in the Louvre (from 2013 to 2014, Osetenko Jr. opened his father’s museum in Odessa, but due to military actions in Ukraine, he had to close it) and, accordingly, left it to his son to continue and bring his art to the masses. He gave interviews to the press and on TV, saying that Yuri would know what to do with his paintings in the future.
As Viktor said, each of his paintings is "hewn": in each of them, with his confidence in the presence of the universal soul, he introduced a particle of the cosmic universe, saying that his paintings radiate the positively charged energy of universal goodness and love invested by him.
As Viktor said, each of his paintings is "hewn": in each of them, with his confidence in the presence of the universal soul, he introduced a particle of the cosmic universe, saying that his paintings radiate the positively charged energy of universal goodness and love invested by him.
Exhibitions
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