Darial Gorge

Viktor Vasylovych Ponomariov was a Ukrainian artist, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine from 1971, an Honored Artist of Ukraine (1990), and a People's Artist of Ukraine (2016). Born on July 4, 1936 in the village of Okhtoma, Arkhangelsk Region (Russia), he graduated from the M. Samokysh Simferopol Art School in 1961, then the Kyiv State Institute in 1967. His teachers in the specialty were V. Chekaniuk, I. Shtilman, K. Trokhymenko, and S. Podervianskyi. Ponomariov worked in the fields of easel painting, graphics, and monumental art. Starting in 1967, he lived and worked in the city of Zhdaniv (now Mariupol). He was a participant in city, all-Ukrainian, all-Union, and foreign exhibitions. His personal exhibitions were held in Mariupol (1987, 2011, 2015), Donetsk (1987), and Kyiv (1988). Among his works are "Fishermen's Family" (1964), "Sailors" (1969), "Fathers" (1965), "Ballad about the Flag" (1976), "Conogons. Farewell" (1985), and others. He died in the winter of 2019. His works are in museums in Ukraine, Russia, and Germany and in private collections in Ukraine and abroad.