Memory Gallery · 1996 — 2021
Leonid Fedorets
1954, Chernobyl, Kyiv region, USSR — 2021
He painted the street he grew up on, the water he dreamed of, the flowers on his table. Everything he loved, he looked at twice.
Leonid Fedorets was born in 1954 in Chernobyl, in the Kyiv region of the former USSR. He was not a professional artist. He painted through his working life, in the hours that belonged to him, from 1996 until his death in 2021.
What he left behind is not a portfolio but a record: his homeland, the houses of his childhood, the landscapes he carried in his head, and the small, bright things of an ordinary day. This is a memory gallery — kept by his family so his way of seeing the world stays visible.
The Man
Leonid Fedorets was born on 25 June 1954 in the town of Chernobyl. In 1986, after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, he moved to Kyiv and lived there for the rest of his life — but his heart stayed forever in his hometown, where his youth was spent, where his band played at the club and he sat behind the drums, where his boat and his motorcycle were.
He loved to sing and to play — guitar, keyboards, drums — to paint, and to build audio systems, speakers and amplifiers by hand. He loved his car and loved being behind the wheel. He was cheerful company and a good man.
He worked in construction all his life as a design engineer, at Ukrrichflot, KyivMiskBud and other companies. In 1986 he was a liquidator at the Chernobyl accident, where his health was broken. From the harm he took there he fell ill, and on 7 August 2021 he died without surviving vascular surgery.
The Works
27 paintings
Roofs of the Home Street
1996–2021 · Pastel and oil on canvas
Slate roofs, a television mast and the fields beyond — home seen from a window he knew by heart. Painted 1996–2021.
Cabin by the Cold Water
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A log house, a jetty and a single sail — a quiet elsewhere he returned to often. Painted 1996–2021.
Sun Going Down on the River
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A boat moored for the night, a small house with lit windows, the day closing gently. Painted 1996–2021.
Field Flowers and a Cup of Coffee
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A clay pot crowded with colour and coffee still steaming — an ordinary morning celebrated. Painted 1996–2021.
Roses at the Open Window
1996–2021 · Pastel and oil on canvas
Light through a blue frame, a jug of roses on a yellow dish — tenderness plainly stated. Painted 1996–2021.
Vydubychi Landing
1996–2021 · Pastel on canvas
The Dnipro station with its red roofs, drawn from the bank he walked all his life. Painted 1996–2021.
Flowers for Someone Waiting
1996–2021 · Pastel on canvas
A man in a long coat crosses wet pavement carrying red flowers — the whole story in his back. Painted 1996–2021.
Bus Station After Rain
1996–2021 · Pastel on canvas
Soviet-era buses, an umbrella, a child in a red coat — the choreography of coming home. Painted 1996–2021.
Red Barges at the Quay
1996–2021 · Pastel and pencil on canvas
Working boats resting against the embankment, the river as labour rather than scenery. Painted 1996–2021.
The Drummer on the Wooden Stage
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on board
A club stage in amber light: one drummer, an idle guitar, a sunburst behind him. Painted 1996–2021.
Autumn Dances at the Open Stage
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
Couples turning on grey asphalt while the trees burn yellow and red behind them. Painted 1996–2021.
Levada
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A neighbourhood cafe with a barrel of kvass and a woman in an apron. Painted 1996–2021.
Evening by the Ukraina Cinema
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on canvas
Couples waiting under a sky turning from blue to fire — a whole town's evening. Painted 1996–2021.
Birches at the Quiet Water
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas board
A palm-sized study: white birches leaning over still water, painted for no one but himself. Painted 1996–2021.
Two in a Boat
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A man rowing, a woman in pink facing the open water — summer on the river kept as it was. Painted 1996–2021.
Candle, Wine and Fruit
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
One candle against the dark, a bottle, grapes and a string of pearls on the cloth. Painted 1996–2021.
The River Pier, 1959
1996–2021 · Oil and pastel on canvas
A steamer, a young mother with a pram, a child in a toy car — the world he was a boy in. Painted 1996–2021.
Frost on the Village Road
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
Snow over the stream, a blue-roofed house, bare branches heavy with frost — almost silent. Painted 1996–2021.
White Water Lilies
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas board
Lilies opening on dark green water — a small canvas painted in tenderness. Painted 1996–2021.
Moon over the Winter Village
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas
A full moon above snowed-in roofs, a stone bridge, firs heavy with white. Painted 1996–2021.
One Daisy in a Glass Jug
1996–2021 · Oil on board
A single field daisy in a glass pitcher against deep green — his smallest, most careful subject. Painted 1996–2021.
Boat on the Sandbank
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on canvas board
A motorboat pulled up on warm sand, its anchor chain slack — the river low and quiet. Painted 1996–2021.
Wildflowers in a Clay Cup
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas board
A whole meadow crowded into one cup and saucer, with two daisies left on the table. Painted 1996–2021.
Pink Sky over the Forest Pond
1996–2021 · Oil on canvas board
Still water between the birches while the sky turns rose — a small painting made at dusk. Painted 1996–2021.
Sleigh Road Past the Blue Hut
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on board
A moonlit yard, a haystack under snow, a horse and sleigh going home. Painted 1996–2021.
Three Tulips on Green
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on canvas board
Red and yellow tulips against soft green — spring reduced to three stems. Painted 1996–2021.
Rooftops and the Old Antenna
1996–2021 · Oil pastel on canvas board
The view from his window: slate roofs, a red-framed house, the fields running to blue hills. Painted 1996–2021.
The collection is being catalogued. More works will be added as they are photographed.