Rondiak, Ola

Ola Rondiak was born in the United States in 1966. She earned her Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology and Education at Hunter College in NYC. After working as a social worker in Brooklyn, she went on to receive her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology and Community Counseling.  Her psychotherapy career began in Philadelphia and then she and her husband, Petro, began their journey to Ukraine in 1995.  They continue to live there now with their three children Roman, Maya, and Kalyna, and their dogs Dolya and Ami. Living through the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, were very emotional experiences for Ola and she expressed these feelings in her paintings. 

Ola is mostly a self-taught artist but has studied art in America, Ukraine and Hungary.  She spent two summers in Hungary for art seminars which culminated in exhibits of her works, including two art installations. Her work has been featured in group and solo exhibits.  Several of her paintings from the exhibit “Dolls” have been on display at Kyiv's Hotel Impressa. The originals from the Orange Revolution series were on exhibit in the Pavlo Tychyna Museum in Kyiv. Many of her paintings have been auctioned off at charitable events.  Her 2016 exhibits include : America House (Kyiv), Nymphenberg Castle (Munich), Ukrainian Consulate (Munich), Ukrainian National Museum (Chicago) and a digital exhibit of her works at the Odessa Opera House in Ukraine. In April 2017 she exhibited her works at the Ukrainian Ambassador's residence in Berlin, Germany and on August 16  will open her ehibit "Behind the Lines" at the Delaware Contemporary. Her work can be purchased from the Ukrainian Museums in New York City, Cleveland, and Chicago, Soyuzivka Resort in upstate New York, as well as contacting her directly from her website.  

Ola's love for painting stems from her roots and is further inspired by living in Ukraine.  Her parents immigrated from Ukraine in 1945 and arrived in America in 1949.   The families were split up at that time during WWII and Ola feels that not only does the pain of this tragedy live within her, but that she has a responsibility to share many Ukrainian traditions with her children. She believes strongly in contributing self-expression into the development of tradition.  In a past interview her work was described as "the world so Ukrainian - by coloring, material, style , and spirit …….. the artist has a gift to see the divine in everything."  The philosophy of living fully in the moment is something she holds dear and tries to maintain this peace through biking, swimming, and meditation, as well as spending time with family and friends.  Ola strongly believes that when she is in a state of calmness, answers to her inner questions come easily.  These answers tend not to come solely from her head, as also from her soul, and she uses this belief to create her artwork.... this dance of her mind with her intuition, as well as her heart.  She continuously strives to achieve this harmony and above all she tries to live her life honestly.  Ola strongly believes that without honesty in life, there is no honesty in art.