In 1928, a dozen and a half craftsmen created a small enterprise called Keramik, which produced pottery. 30 years have passed, and "Keramik" has become the largest manufacturer of ceramics in Ukraine, known as "Vasilkovsky majolica plant". The plant's products became famous all over the world: the products were repeatedly exhibited at decorative art exhibitions outside of Ukraine. The assortment is based on items created in the traditional Ukrainian style. Until the end of the 1940s, local masters were engaged in the development of new series, later artists from all over the country were invited to the plant, among whom were the spouses Valery and Nadezhda Protoryev.
The creative path of young artists began in the 50s, when they graduated from the Kyiv School of Decorative Arts and began to make ceramic dishes in their own workshop. However, the vast majority of products were produced later, at the plant in Vasilkov. Due to the replication, the works of the Protorievs, which are of high artistic quality, were available to the general public.
In recent years, interest in the work of the duo has been constantly growing. In 2022, when Russian shells destroyed a residential building in Borodyanka, in a dilapidated building, on a kitchen cabinet, an intact cockerel, once created by the Protorievs, remained standing. And a few years before the Russian invasion, the artists’ work was popularized by the musician and collector Pavel Gudimov, curator of the Zavod exhibition, which featured exhibits from the Good Beasts series. At one time, animalistic figures became the fruit of bold creative searches. These striking examples of interior ceramics are fabulous and charming animals.
