exhibition sponsors

Deborah Anspach & John Hanson
Linda Snider

Folktales and Fanfare is organized by the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art and curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs.

Charles M. Bair and Northwest Projects Galleries

March 27 – August 15, 2026

Step into a world alive with color, humor, and heart. Folktales and Fanfare invite visitors into a garden of playful imagination, where the ceramic sculptures and drawings of Ukrainian artist Janina Myronova burst with life and emotion. Her bright-cheeked characters—with bold forms and exaggerated expressions—encourage us to pause, smile, and look closer. “Every sculpture is a storyteller,” Myronova says, “echoing the rich tapestry of folklore … frozen moments of a big performance seen through a cheerful and positive filter.”

In this new body of work, Myronova transforms the traditions of ceramic art into something both whimsical and profound. Her figures—dreamlike and full of personality—explore themes of home, friendship, hope, and renewal. Accompanying drawings and painted surfaces extend these narratives, blurring the boundaries between two and three dimensions. Together, they form a world that celebrates the beauty of craft, imagination, and human connection.

Born and raised in Ukraine and now based in Poland, Myronova has built an international career defined by curiosity and cross-cultural exploration. After earning her PhD from the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Wrocław, she completed artist residencies around the globe—from Taiwan to France, South Korea to Denmark—each one shaping her vibrant visual language.

Her journey to the United States began in 2022 with a McKnight Fellowship at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, followed by residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, where she continues her work today.

Myronova’s sculptures are part of major museum collections worldwide, including the Crocker Art Museum (California), Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), the National Museums of Wrocław and Kraków (Poland), and the Museu de Ceràmica l’Alcora (Spain), among others.