At the time of aggravation of socio-political problems, when the question of finding their own identity arose, artists wanted to separate themselves from the Soviet context, so they began to turn to Ukrainian traditions. Petro Starukh looks back to the folk Yavoriv game in the sculpture ‘Morning’ (1982). Like avant-garde artists, he works with minimalist forms and bright colors. He reduces the main narrative to a sign symbol and creates a kind of archetype - a marker of national identity.
Petro Starukh is one of the founders of postmodern abstraction in Ukrainian sculpture. He reproduces the state of political reality or invents his own myths, which he embodies in wood, bronze, or stone. The sculptor breaks the structure genres. The artist encourages us to go beyond the usual perception, to break established norms and barriers.