Biography
Yevhen Yevhenovych Dzholos-Solovyov (1941, Lyubotyn, Kharkiv region – 2017, USA) was a painter, monumental artist, and graphic artist. Son of the artists Yevhen Solovyov and Lyubov Dzholos.
1960s – Graduated from the Kharkiv Art College.
1970 – Graduated from the Moscow Higher School of Art and Industry (Russian Federation).
From 1967 – Participant in art exhibitions.
1979 – Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
Taught at the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute.
1988 – Emigrated to the United States, where he subsequently lived and worked.
Although Yevhen’s parents worked in the Socialist Realist tradition, the young artist was consistently drawn to experimentation, developing a keen fascination with monotype and Chinese painting. In the USSR, where exploring Western culture was fraught with danger, an interest in Eastern art and philosophy offered a safer outlet. Consequently, Dzholos-Solovyov began creating graphic works using Chinese ink and a calligraphic brush. He mastered the gongbi technique (meaning “meticulous brushwork” in Chinese)—a method originating in medieval China characterized by crisp, fine lines and multi-layered paint application. Later, he explored the xieyi style (meaning “freehand brushwork” or “spontaneous expression”), which Kharkiv art historians suggest aligned even more closely with the artist’s creative ethos.
For Dzholos-Solovyov, an artist was not a mere copyist of observed reality, but a vessel of creative freedom and pulsating thought. This belief gave birth to philosophical graphic works that were hidden away in his deepest desk drawers. He exhibited rarely, holding firm principles and refusing to flatter the Soviet regime. His home served as an informal hub for Kharkiv’s dissident circles.
In the early 1980s, Solovyov and his wife (who was also an artist) received a municipal commission to design the newly built Pushkinska metro station in Kharkiv. The project became a monument to their personal and creative partnership. His former wife, Zhanneta, recalled it as exceptionally grueling work, yet it afforded them access to extraordinary materials—bronze, faience, and metal—that young artists could typically only dream of. Though regulatory bodies scrutinized every draft, the couple steadfastly barred any interference in their artistic vision.
At the age of 47, Yevhen divorced his wife, emigrated to the United States, and started anew. His search for identity abroad spanned over two decades. Living a reclusive life in New York, the artist continued to produce work, though his final pieces have not survived. While he and his former wife spoke via Skype almost daily, they never met again in person.
