Dr. Olenka Pevny

Biography

Olenka Pevny studies the art culture of Kyivan Rus’ and Ruthenia, particularly interested in the reception and acculturation of Orthodox tradition in Eastern Slavic lands and their place in visual culture narratives of national, regional, religious, and gender identity. Her involvement in conservation and preservation initiatives guides her interest in how scholars, theorists, politicians, and cultural activists from the late Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and contemporary Ukraine and Russia relate to and interact with the medieval past. Before arriving in Cambridge, Pevny was an Associate Professor of Byzantine Medieval Art History at the University of Richmond, VA, and worked in a curatorial capacity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for the Glory of Byzantium exhibition, and as an archaeologist in Crimea and Greece. She received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.

Research Interests