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New perspectives: 8 Contemporary Artist from Ukraine (Kyiv)
25 January —
12 February 2017

selected works

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Voloshyn Gallery presents the New Perspectives project: 8 Contemporary Artists from Ukraine - an exhibition of eight leading Ukrainian artists, whose works have already been successfully exhibited in New York, USA, and is now available for the audience in Kyiv. The participants of the project are Mykola Matsenko, Oleg Tistol, Artem Volokitin, Tatyana Malinovska, Mykhailo Deyak, Anna Valieva, Stepan Ryabchenko and Roman Minin. The project is initiated and curated by Max and Julia Voloshyn, and Walter Hoydysh.

The exhibition in the United States was aimed to present contemporary Ukrainian art as a unique phenomenon. In this project, modern Ukrainian artists invite the viewer to explore their own perspectives, to risk taking a glimpse into the horizon of future events. It touches a deep emotional and spiritual dimension of a modern person who still faces the same problems of choice like hundreds of years ago,  but at the same time having new opportunities now. Therefore, you can find eight totally different personalities and worldviews in the exhibition!

A neo-folk master Mykola Matsenko expresses his ideas through symbolic "coats of arms". The artist has been engaged in the formation of a new national myth for many years. His works resemble pop art and ancient folk ornaments at the same time. In addition to his paintings, he presents 25 Colorado beetle sat the exhibition, as a symbolic allusion to the political conflict in Ukraine.

Anna Valieva's works offer a new experience and perception of textures to see how images acquire a new meaning in the context of non-standard material, for example, padding polyester. Anna is a young and successful Ukrainian artist who, in 2016, got the Kyiv Mayor Award for the youth's outstanding achievements in the development of the capital of Ukraine, the Hero City of Kyiv. Apart from that, she has represented Voloshyn Gallery and Ukraine at the Scope Miami Beach Art Show 2016 exhibition in Miami, USA.

Mykhailo Deyak represents the younger generation of contemporary Ukrainian artists. He works on the verge of neo-expressionism and minimalism, experimenting with materials such as glass and metal, and is fluent in all painting techniques. The project will present Mykhailo's paintings from the series «Klitschko Brothers Emotions», first introduced in 2014 at «Art Kyiv Contemporary» exhibition. In these studies, Mykhailo turns to the champion's story, his inner feelings and the internal energy filling a boxer before a fight. Apart from that, the project presents one work of the "Stools" series.

Artem Volokitin is the first winner of the Pinchuk Art Prize award. In the "Fireworks" series, the artist by means of his paintings is watching the destruction of beauty and the irreversibility of its extinction. He creates an image of frightening physical phenomena, in the face of which a person is aware of its mortality. On one hand, the author is fascinated by the nature of the process that he reveals as a painter. On the other, the image of explosions is a kind of living everyday reality that is overwhelmed by aggression. Simplified to the fullest degree possible, the graphical background of his works resembles engraving technique.

Tatyana Malinovska in her "Easygame" series has embodied the very airy, weightless infantile desire from childhood, in the form of a cake. In one of the works we can see the image of the Tower of Babel that symbolizes the desire of people who have come together on their way to the top. In "The Triumph", the air permeates the entire image, made up of various mixed substances. In the works from the series "The Core" she creates the whirlpool, in depths of which erotica, intrigue and a magical fairy-tale dream kaleidoscope are combined.

Stepan Ryabchenko captures the spirit of the time: the era of information technology, virtual reality and digital images. In his bold and vibrant projects the artist "plays" with space, transforming it and designing a new abstract environment. The project presents "The Viruses" and "Electronic marshmallows" series, where the artist refers to the actual topic of this century, namely, virtual reality and its impact on people's lives. In "Electronic marshmallows," the artist transforms the ancient Greek mythology into a virtual one, creating portraits of virtual winds.

One of the most famous Ukrainian artists, an avid follower of Ukrainian New Wave, Oleg Tistol will present the audience his work of the "Yu. B. K. " project, on which he worked more than 9 years. In this series, he turns to the subject of stereotypes and cultural symbols. Therefore, the portrayed palm at Yalta promenade represents the image of a lost paradise, a place for rest, as Crimea was for all Ukrainians. Nevertheless, the image of the palm is hand-made, and represents substitution and artificiality.

Roman Minin is primarily known as the author of works depicting the miners' theme. He has managed to create not only a very impressive cycle, but also a kind of a miner's life anthology. An image of a miner for Minin is a symbol, the meaning of which has a wide range of metaphorical readings, starting from Christian humility to data search in the world of information. The author himself sees in a created by him miner "an anthropomorphic archetype." At the same time, the artist's works have a sharp social character, being a perfect illustration of the exploitation of people in the capitalist market system.

A characteristic feature of the exhibition is each artist's recognizable manner, raising the theme of national identity in their works, destruction and rebirth, as well as the search of their own individuality. New Perspectives: 8 Contemporary Artists from Ukraine, is a search of brand new opportunities for the development of Ukrainian art based on national values.

The Ukrainian Institute of America is located in a unique historical place in the heart of New York City, near the famous Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue, in a house called the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion and is one of the top 10 most beautiful villas of the city, with its windows overlooking the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park. The cultural Institution of Ukrainians in the United States was founded in 1948 by a Ukrainian inventor, businessman and philanthropist Vladimir Juice, who purchased the mansion for this purpose in 1955.