Bouquets inspired by Maria Primachenko

Here is a special collection of bouquets inspired by the famous Ukrainian artist Maria Primachenko and her vibrant works inspired by the motifs of her folklore.

The story of Maria Primachenko

Maria was born and spent most of her life in Bolotnia, in the Kyiv region, to a poor rural family. She tells of her first artistic experiments, drawing imaginary flowers in the sand of the riverbank, then painting the walls of her house with natural pigments. Since then, the young woman who would soon become a genius painter has never stopped creating.

Maria became a naive artist, but despite her lack of technique or professionalism, it is easy to feel what she is talking about when looking at her paintings. Apart from the imaginary brightly coloured mythological monsters that appeared in her dreams, the paintings are full of natural themes, young love, the warmth of summer and even storks. After all, it is all so close to us! But her work is far from reaching an audience merely because of a wistful nostalgia for its own smells or sounds. Maria Primachenko is a widely recognised and awarded artist. If you still have any doubts, you should already bow your head low to the creative wonder of this brilliant Ukrainian, as Pablo Picasso is said to have done when he visited her exhibition in Paris.

In the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a museum in Ivankiv was burnt down, displaying 25 works by Maria and a number of other local artists. The ruthless war launched by Russia is claiming lives, cities and even culture. The land and fields of Ukraine, so warmly and vividly depicted in Maria’s paintings, are now being stained with heavy, dark blood.

We created this collection because we celebrate the vibrant culture of Ukraine and mourn its destruction.

We invite you to take a look at Flowers&Lovers’ interpretations of the bouquets based on the paintings by Maria Primachenko.

Flax Blooms, a Bride Goes to Her Groom (1983)