Mikhailo Deyak | Memories
Voloshyn Gallery is proud to present a solo show Memories by Mikhailo Deyak.
Memories are a new project of a Ukrainian artist Mikhailo Deyak, conceived as a total installation. Known for his paintings on glass and sculptures made of twisted metal, Deyak continues to explore these materials in the new project. Memories mark the artist’s deepening shift of interest from a 2-dimensional plane to 3-dimensional space, and from an object to space as such. A series of colored metal objects entitled Genesis, which Deyak began to create in 2016, became the first manifestation of the artist’s desire to work with 3D spaces. An art scholar Galyna Sklyarenko described Genesis as a “a metaphor for how forms, movements, ideas and thoughts are conceived,” and noted their focus on “the genesis of new forms.” In Memories, the metaphoric dimension of semi-abstract compositions gives way to the pragmatic dimension of shaping the environment. The transition from Genesis to Memories is a transition from spatial compositions to compositions of space.
Memories are comprised of two large-scale glass objects, and a metal composition. The exhibition’s visitors and the art objects that form the exposition space become equal co-creators and actors in the immersive environment of Memories.
As the artist himself has noted, “The goal of the project was to create a situation that would help the viewers to dive deep into themselves. The objects in Memories are large, commensurate with human height, so the viewers are fully immersed in the space of the works. They are, therefore, placed in a certain state, alone with themselves, capable of supporting a dialogue with themselves through artworks. The viewers are left alone with their memories about the past, the present, and the future.”
Created in 2019, the project has not been exhibited previously.
Mikhailo Deyak was born in 1984 in the village of Zolotarevo (Khust District, the Transcarpathian Region). He graduated from A. Erdeli Uzhhorod Art College and the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (Kyiv). His works map the intersection between neo-expressionism and minimalism, and include experiments with various materials. Voloshyn Gallery has an exclusive contract with the artist, and over the course of this 4-year-long cooperation, Deyak's works have been exhibited at several international art fairs, including VOLTA NY, and the Scope Art Show in Basel (Switzerland), Miami and New York, Dallas Art Fair (the USA), as well as viennacontemporary (Austria). The artist’s works often appear at auctions: over the last couple of years, five of his works sold at the Phillips Auction. Mikhailo Deyak is widely exhibited: for example, in March 2017 the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York hosted his solo show. In 2019, he participated in the Unlimited art residency in New York. He lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.
