Leonid Denysenko (25 July 1926 – 12 May 2020) was a Ukrainian Australian artist living in Sydney, Australia. He is notable for the introduction of the graphic art technique of "literography".Babie, Paul. 'God Is Love': The Literography of Leonid Denysenko. The Australasian Catholic Record, Vol. 86, No. 1, Jan 2009: 18–24. ISSN 0727-3215 He was a founding member of the Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia.
Biography and career
Born in Warsaw in 1926 of Ukrainian émigré parents, Denysenko studied art in Poland. After World War II he worked as an artist with the United States armed forces in Germany.
After arriving in Australia in 1949 with his family, he was sent to a migrant reception and training camp at Bathurst, NSW. As part of the 'assisted passage' Denysenko and his brother, Yurij were under a contract to the Australian Government to work where the Government sent them: the two were sent to Queensland to be sugar cane cutters. As related by Leonid himself in the Australian Women's Weekly:
In time, the Denysenkos left the camp and Leonid with his mother and brother, helped stage a number of Ukrainian arts and craft shows in Australia. By 1950 Leonid was already being featured in Australian media as a "migrant artist from Ukraine",O'Sullivan, G. 'New Australians enjoyed their Convention', The Australian Women's Weekly Saturday 11 February 1950, p.28 and "a young Ukrainian whose pen-and- ink work is much above the ordinary".
Having passed the required exams to teach art in secondary and high schools, Denysenko went on to enjoy a diverse career. He worked as a stage and set designer for theatre and films, a cartoonist and illustrator for books and periodicals, a stamp designer, a ballet company's leading dancer, an art teacher and principal, and a freelance journalist.IPREZ (2001), Художники України ("Artists of Ukraine"), Edition 2, "ІПРЕЗ", Kyiv, 2001. Vilna Dumka & Ukrainian Heritage Society (2001) ("Вільна Думка" і Товариство Збереження Української Спадщини в Австралії), Українці Австралії — Енциклопедичний Довідник ("Ukrainians in Australia: an Encyclopedic Guide"), Sydney. (National Library of Australia ID 34684777) Markus, V. (ed.) (1995) Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Diaspora Vol. 4. Australia – Asia – Africa, (Енциклопедія Української Діяспори. Том 4 Австралія – Азія – Африка), Shevchenko Scientific Society and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (гол ред.: Маркусь Василь, Наукове Товариство ім. Шевченка і Національна академія наук України. Вид. "ІНТЕЛ"), Kyiv – New York – Chicago – Melbourne.
Denysenko held a degree in graphic art, a certificate in education and a diploma in fine arts. He died in Canberra on 12 May 2020, at the age of 93.
Commonwealth Jubilee Exhibition of New Australian Arts and Crafts In 1951 Denysenko was chosen to be in charge of the New Australian Arts and Crafts Exhibition, which was part of the celebrations for the Jubilee of Australia's Federation. Denysenko's pen-and-ink sketches of Australian towns visited during the exhibition's tour were also part of the show. This touring exhibition visited capital cities and towns in all the states of Australia, including Queensland and Tasmania.
Works Denysenko pioneered a new graphic art technique called "literography", which uses letters from words to form detailed pictures. His most famous work is the icon "God is Love", which features an image of Jesus Christ using letters of the word Love written in 79 different languages.
In December 1955, the Australian Department of Immigration announced a public competition to obtain designs for a suitable stamp about migration."Holt's dream Australian" — describing an exhibition of some of the entries for the design competition "The Millionth Migrant" at the Victorian Immigration Museum, held in January 1989. Retrieved 10 March 2011. Designs also were sought from a further 10 artists and designers, including Denysenko. About 300 entries were received.
Despite the great response to the competition and much discussion, a stamp on the theme of migration was never issued. Instead, the Department of Immigration used many of the entries in its touring immigration and citizenship promotional displays. In 1989 the two entries by Denysenko were featured in an exhibition of these "forgotten works" at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.The collection of stamp entries, including Leonid Denysenko's are described in the catalog by Gertsakis, E. and Australia Post (1998) The millionth migrant : picture of a citizen, pictures of a nation Australia Post, Melbourne (National Library of Australia ID 8156595)
Together with his brother Jurij, an architect, Denysenko won a competition for the design of the International Monument in Fairfield in Western Sydney, that celebrates migration and the multi-ethnic community in that local government area.'Brothers Win Design', "The Biz", Thursday, 21 March 1968. Fairfield City local newspaper, copies held in Fairfield City library Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (1982) Sydney's Greater West, Robert Brown & Associates Pty Ltd, Bathurst NSW
Denysenko's designed the mosaics adorning the church at the Ukrainian Orthodox Centre in Canberra.'Український Православний Центр Пам'ятник 1000-ліття Хрещення України в Канберрі, Столична Територія' (Ukrainian Orthodox Centre – Monument to 1000 years of Christianity in Ukraine in Canberra)
Exhibitions Denysenko exhibited in group exhibitions of the Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia in both Australia, and Ukraine, and his work "God is Love" has featured in many exhibitions throughout Australia.
Group exhibitions 1973 – International Eucharistic Congress – Arts Festival, Exhibition Building, Melbourne, 15–25 February 1973International Eucharistic Congress (40th: 1973 : Melbourne, Vic.) 2001 — "Devotion: the Religious, the Domestic and the Pacific", Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, 12 September – 18 October 2001 2010 — "Text as Spiritual Imagery" Exhibition, McGlade Gallery, Strathfield, September – October 2010
Notes and references
External links Pen and ink graphic by Leonid Denysenko "Poor neighborhood of the city of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia", 1951 in Ukrainian Art Digest, No. 18, December 1978, с. 75