A Sea of Watercolors: Paintings by 190 Artists on Display in Odessa

The Sixth International All-Ukrainian Biennial Exhibition in Odesa, “Sea of Watercolors – 2026,” opened in Odesa on July 17.

An Intenta correspondent visited the exhibition.

Viktoria Kravchenko, the exhibition’s manager, explained that the exhibition has been running for over 12 years and is held every two years. Her parents—artists Galina and Anatoly Kravchenko—believed that the watercolor painting technique was undeservedly underappreciated. 

“It was generally believed, from a professional standpoint, that the watercolor technique was inferior to, for example, oil painting, and that watercolor had not been developed enough; no one believed it could be on par with classical oil painting,” noted Viktoria Kravchenko. 

  Artist and one of the exhibition’s curators, Anatoliy Kravchenko, said he was pleased with the exhibition.

“Watercolor is the living soul of artistic movements. People paint with pleasure; the exhibition draws people in and keeps them engaged. A very important aspect this time is that the exhibition has been named after Galina Kravchenko, who was the driving force behind this idea,” the artist noted.

The “Sea of Watercolors” biennial exhibition project began in 2014. The project’s founders are the artist couple Anatoliy and Galina Kravchenko. A notable achievement of the exhibition is that it took place at the start of the full-scale invasion, despite all the obstacles and skepticism—primarily from foreigners. That year, the organizers managed to attract artists from more than 12 countries to participate.

This year, the exhibition features a number of prominent contemporary artists, including Honored Artists and cultural figures, People’s Artists of Ukraine, Academicians, as well as founders and representatives of art unions and organizations. These also include Ukrainian artists who regularly and actively represent Ukraine at international art venues, such as exhibitions and artist residencies.

The exhibition features over 190 artists from 12 countries. All the paintings on display were created using the watercolor technique. The project’s partners are the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, the Academy of Arts of Ukraine, and IWS. The event is sponsored by Rosa. The main goal of the exhibition is to showcase the diverse possibilities of watercolor as an artistic medium and to introduce viewers to contemporary artists from Ukraine and around the world. The exhibition will continue in October 2026 in Kyiv. 

Кирило Бойко