Voloshyn Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in Nada Villa Warsaw, taking place in the Polish capital from May 22-25, 2025, at the historic Villa Gawrońskich. We warmly invite you to visit our room, where we will be showcasing a selection of works by Lesia Khomenko and Nikita Kadan. Together, these artists examine the role of visual culture in shaping public perception and historical awareness, especially in the context of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
Lesia Khomenko’s A Drone Surveillance on Figure in a Tree Line painting depicts an unidentified figure walking through the remains of a forest ravaged by war. This particular scene of a place so devoid of any semblance of life is one of many in Ukraine. The artist works with footage she finds online to deconstruct narratives within the image, aiming to reveal the tools of visual manipulation and study the complex ways in which the war in Ukraine is represented. Her technique involves working with user-generated content, isolating and expanding split-second moments within these images. Moving beyond the format of a time-based short video by deliberately focusing on details rarely noticed in the imagery, she presents an alternate dimensional orientation and intentionally creates a personal distance to contemplate notions of fear and the nature of violence. Lesia Khomenko’s works reference the social-realistic post-WW2 battle paintings and the current cyber reality of war. Thus, she invites the viewers to reconsider the roles of witnessing, interpretation, and new technologies in producing evidence of historic events.
Nikita Kadan’s charcoal drawings of somber fields spreading out into the horizon guard dark secrets. Body parts and bodies lie beneath the soil, waiting for the moment they are unearthed and the terrifying circumstances of their death are discovered. Kadan’s works transcend back into the depths of history, forcing one to wonder what other undiscovered secrets are scattered through the layers of Ukrainian chornozem (soil). Nikita Kadan addresses Ukraine’s fertile soil as a subject, since it was historically sought out by numerous colonizing powers and can therefore be considered as both the country’s blessing and its curse.
The Everyone wants to live by the sea neon created in 2014 refers to Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula. It is a reminder of a lost home. A simple outline of a piece of land which means so much, that it is impossible to fit into words. Crimea glows as a constant reminder of what was taken and what will one day be returned. Nikita Kadan reflects on colonial violence and its impact on local communities. His works intertwine past and present, exposing the cyclical nature of violence through subtle yet powerful visual motifs.
The exhibition invites the viewers to consider the hidden and visible manifestations of war and battle, and the ways in which they are documented and presented to the world, as well as the methods with which they can be erased and reinterpreted.
About artists
Lesia Khomenko (b. 1980, Kyiv, Ukraine) is a contemporary artist as well as co-founder and member of the R.E.P. group (since 2004) and the curatorial group Hudrada (since 2008). She was on the short list of the PinchukArtPrize (2009, 2011, and 2013), and Future Generations Art Prize with the R.E.P. group (2012) founded by Victor Pinchuk and Kazimir Malevich Artist Award (2012 and 2016). Lives and works in New York, NY, US.
Her works are in public collections including M HKA (BEL), Ludwig Museum (HU), Art Collection Telecom (DE), and Albertinum (DE). Lesiaʼs works have been shown in several solo and group exhibitions, among others at the Ukrainian Museum in New York, New York (US); Albertinum, Dresden (DE); Collateral Event of the 59th and 60th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennial, Venice (IT); The European Parliament (BE); Museum Folkwang (DE); Fridman Gallery, NYC (US). Khomenko’s works have been covered and reviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Art Newspaper, and Frieze, among others.
Nikita Kadan (b. 1982 in Kyiv, Ukraine) works with painting, graphics, and installation, often collaborating interdisciplinary with architects, sociologists, and human rights activists. He is a member of the artist group R.E.P. (Revolutionary Experimental Space) and a founding member of Hudrada (Artistic Committee), a curatorial and activist collective.
Nikita Kadan’s works are included in public collections, such as Centre Pompidou in Paris, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) in Madrid, KADIST in Paris, Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, mumok (Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Vienna), National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv, Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, Military History Museum in Dresden, The Art Collection Telekom in Belgium, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FRAC Bretagne, Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato, and ICA Miami in Miami.
About Nada Villa Warsaw
NADA Villa Warsaw brings together a diverse selection of 50 international galleries and art spaces from 24 cities and 15 countries to present artists in a collaborative exhibition format, engaging the distinctive character of Villa Gawrońskich, a neo-baroque architectural landmark located in the heart of Warsaw.
Organized with Michał Kaczyński (Raster), Marta Kołakowska (LETO Gallery), and Joanna Witek-Lipka, the initiative builds on Raster’s series of Villa Projects, an art fair alternative first initiated in Warsaw in 2006, with iterations held in Iceland, Japan, and Canada.
About Voloshyn Gallery
In 2016, Max and Julia Voloshyn established Voloshyn Gallery in the heart of Kyiv, Ukraine. Situated in a historic 1913 building, Voloshyn Gallery's space provides an unconventional setting for contemporary art. It exhibits a broad range of works in a variety of media, representing both emerging and established artists. Voloshyn Gallery hosts solo and group exhibitions, works with accomplished curators and museums, and takes part in leading contemporary art fairs.
In 2022, Voloshyn Gallery made the difficult decision to close temporarily due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2023 the gallery reopened its doors in Kyiv, Ukraine and also expanded with a space in Miami, Florida.