Petro Kholodnyi (the younger)

Petro Petrovych Cholodny (July 22, 1904 – January 24, 1990) was a painter, graphic artist and iconographer, born in Kyiv, Ukraine. His father Petro Kholodnyi was an artist and iconographer, whose icons adorned the Dormition Church Lviv, the iconostasis and murals of the Chapel of the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine.

Artistic work and influences Cholodny believed in the importance of the icon as a portal for prayer. To serve the faithful, the church the iconographer had to adhere to centuries old traditions and symbols so that the icon fulfills its function. It must not draw attention to itself and a painting with a religious subject need not be an icon. Cholodny when interviewed often spoke of the transgressions of artists and architects who took liberties with these necessary precepts and traditions.

Cholodny was a naturalist, and late in life had an enormous collection of beetles and avidly studied Entomology. His wife Nataliia, often commented that his approach to art work slow and methodical, while he pursued fishing and beetles with great zeal in old age. In 1982, a retrospective exhibition was held on his 80th birthday in New York City. Andrew Charyna, Cholodny's grandson, is also a painter living in Canada. In 2001, The Ukrainian Museum in NYC did an exhibition of Three Generations of Cholodny Artists: Petro Cholodny, the Elder, Petro Cholodny the Younger and Andrew Charyna.

Cholodny's significant works include monumental icons in a Neo-Byzantine style for several Ukrainian churches in the US. He created iconostasis, mosaics and stained glass windows for numerous churches and thus is credited for the revival of the Ukrainian-Byzantine art traditions of Iconography in the United States. There he continued to avidly collect beetles, go fishing and to paint. The small town of Glen Spey, boasts two Ukrainian Churches, one Ukrainian Orthodox and one Byzantine Catholic, both with icons painted by Cholodny. - iconostasis St Volodymyrs Ukrainian Catholic Church, Glen Spey, NY - iconostasis St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church, NYC - the stained-glass windows The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Trenton, NJ Bookplate "Yurii Lypa" Religious Icons at Ukrainian Museum in Stamford, CT