Art in Ukraine: “In times of war, culture becomes a second front.”
Are the artistic muses silent when the cannons of war sound? What is the impact of revolution and conflict on the development of artistic practice? These eternal questions were raised again in the project In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s.
The historical period from 1900 to the 1930s was both politically complex and utterly tragic for Ukraine. In the span of these thirty years, it was impacted by: World War I, the revolution of 1917, the Ukrainian War of Independence and the creation of Soviet Ukraine. Yet, amidst a climate of turmoil, a true renaissance in Ukrainian culture that saw growth in literature, cinema, theatre and visual art was born.
Alexandra Exter, Still Life, 1913. Collage and oil on canvas, 68 x 53 cm. Courtesy of Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s opens the curtain of this illustrious period of culture by focusing on “creative experimentation” and rediscovering the “ground-breaking” art produced in Ukraine at that time.[1] The program was launched as a travelling exhibition that will be showcased at the key museums of Europe; currently, it is being hosted by the Museo National Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. From there, it will travel to Museum Ludwig in Cologne, where it will open in early June 2023, and then will move to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels from October 2023, with the next destinations of the exposition being reported by the curatorial team at a later stage.
The exhibition presents around 70 artworks of different media - from oil paintings to collages and theatre designs, characterising the innovative approach and the uniqueness of Modernism in Ukraine. The art objects were mainly loaned from the National Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) and the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema in Ukraine.
Davyd Burliuk, Carousel, 1921. Oil on canvas, 33 x 45.5 cm. Courtesy of the National Art Museum of Ukraine.
The staging of the exhibition was facilitated by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, a distinguished philanthropist and art collector. She is also one of the main contributors to the launch of the project. When discussing this exciting period in Ukrainian history, she stated, “For decades, art historians have emphasised the role of Russian artists in avant-garde movements. During the Soviet period, Ukrainian intellectuals, writers, artists, poets, filmmakers and composers – even while striving for Ukrainian independence – could not completely escape the constraints of political reality.”
Within the exhibition, she aims to highlight that “artists from Ukraine nevertheless succeeded in pioneering new forms of expression deeply rooted in Ukrainian folk art. Their revolutionary work in painting, dance, film and fashion during the early years of the twentieth century firmly places Ukraine among the countries that played a key role in the birth of modernism. Ukraine is a nation of innovators, pioneers and inventors who regarded art as a transporter of new ideas and ways of being. ” [2]
Installation view of “In the Eye of the Storm. Modernism in Ukraine 1900-1930s” at Museo National Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, 2022. Photo: Katia Denysova.
To fulfil this mission, the exhibition explores the artistic heritage of the masters of Ukrainian modernism, such as Oleksandr Bohomazov, Vasyl Yermilov, Viktor Palmov and Anatol Petrytskyi, but also provides a reference to the achievements of the famous painting school run by Mykhailo Boichuk and the artistic experiments of Kultur Lige union. Additionally, the project highlights notable contributions to this development by valued avant-garde masters, including Kazymyr Malevych and El Lissitzky, who were also working in Ukraine at this time. Moreover, it charts the artistic endeavours of Alexandra Exter and Sonia Delaunay, both of whom were born and started their creative careers in Ukraine and have since become well-established artists abroad.
Oleksandr Bohomazov, Experimental Still Life, 1927-28. Watercolour on paper, 34 x 24 cm. Courtesy of Ellen and Michael Ringier Collection, Switzerland.
Whilst the tumultuous period of Ukrainian history presented in In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s, seems like a lifetime ago, it is also all too relevant today. These tragic experiences have repeated themselves with the full-scale Russian invasion, which began a year ago to this day on February 24, 2022. Consequently, the exhibition not only reveals forgotten names from Ukraine’s cultural heritage but also changes colonisation narratives by presenting Ukrainian art in conjunction with the European art scene.
The significance of this cultural shift was stressed by Katia Denysova – art historian, PhD candidate at the Courtauld Institute of Art (London) and co-curator of the program: “One of the main objectives that we pursued with this project - both the exhibition and the catalogue - was to challenge the existing Russo-centric interpretations of art history in the post-Soviet region. While recognising the plurality of identities that existed in Ukraine in the early twentieth century, we nonetheless wanted to show that many of the artists historically viewed as ‘Russian avant-garde’ belong to the narrative of Ukrainian art and culture. We are not appropriating any names; instead, we are shifting the focus to highlight the centrality of the Ukrainian context.”
The published catalogue of the same name – “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s” – is an equally integral part of this endeavour, co-edited by the exhibition’s co-curators: Katia Denysova, Konstantin Akinsha (independent art historian, curator and journalist), and Olena Kashuba – Volvach (head of the Department of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century art at the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU)head of the Department of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century art at the National Art Museum of Ukraine).
Oleksandr Bohomazov, Landscape, Caucasus, 1915-16. The cover page of the catalogue “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s”. Courtesy: Thames & Hudson.
Featuring seventeen essays by twelve internationally renowned scholars, the catalogue eternalises the artistic endeavour of the modernism masters in Ukraine into words. Moreover, looks deeper into the complex socio-political context at the beginning of the twentieth century and its impact on the art ecosystem.
In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s. is one of the important milestones in decolonising the cultural discourse of Ukraine through the emphasis on its identity and the diversity of Ukrainian art heritage. It also became an effective tool of cultural diplomacy, which is another important front in the ongoing full-scale war with Russia.
Special thanks to Dr Klara Kempt-Welch and Katia Denysova for providing the additional materials and support in preparing the article.
Bibliography
Akinsha Konstantin, Denysova Katia, Kashuba-Volvach Olena. “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s”. London: Thames & Hudson, 2022
The Guardian. “Ukrainian art convoy defies Russian bombs to go on display to Madrid”. November 2022.
Olga Yurkova
Contributing Writer, MADE IN BED