Pryazovia

Yurii Valentynovych Zorko was a Ukrainian artist, Honored Artist of Ukraine (1993), People's Artist of Ukraine (2002), and participant in the All-Ukrainian painting auctions of the "L-Art" gallery. He was born on September 21, 1937 in the village of Razdolne (now Primorsky Krai, Russia). In 1961, he graduated from the Krasnodar Art School, and later graduated from the Donetsk Art School of Designers, where he studied under V. Hladkyi and B. Stashevskyi. Zorko worked in the field of easel painting, creating landscapes, still lifes, and thematic paintings. He participated in regional, republic, and all-Ukrainian exhibitions. Starting in 1999, he was the organizer and leader of the creative group "Donetsk Plein Air". His personal exhibitions were held in Kyiv (1977, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2008) and Donetsk (1977, 1982, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007). His main works include "Pryluky Monastery" (1966), "Breath of the Earth" (1984), "In the Old Manor" (2004), and "Gifts of the Donetsk Land" (2006). His works are in museums of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, and in galleries and private collections abroad. Zorko passed away in 2019 in the city of Donetsk.