Exhibition In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 – 1930s is on display in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid, Spain) from November 29, 2022 to April 30, 2023. This project is aimed at presenting the diversity of Ukrainian modernism and showing the unique face of Ukrainian art of this era to the European audience. The exposition consist of 69 works from the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the State Museum of Theater, Music and Film Arts of Ukraine, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and private collections.
In the Eye of the Storm reclaims this essential – though little-known in the West – chapter of European modernism, displaying around 70 works in a full range of media, from oil paintings and sketches to collages and theatre designs. Following a strict chronological order, the show presents works by masters of Ukrainian modernism, such as Oleksandr Bohomazov, Vasyl Yermilov, Viktor Palmov, and Anatol Petrytskyi. Exploring the polyphony of styles and identities, the exhibition includes neo-Byzantine paintings by the followers of Mykhailo Boichuk and experimental works by members of the Kultur Lige, who sought to promote their vision of contemporary Ukrainian and Yiddish art, respectively. It features pieces by Kazymyr Malevych and El Lissitzky, quintessential artists of the international avant-garde who worked in Ukraine and left a significant imprint on the development of the national art scene. The exhibition also showcases artworks of internationally renowned artists who were born and started their careers in Ukraine but became famous abroad, among them Alexandra Exter, Wladimir Baranoff-Rossiné, and Sonia Delaunay.
For the first time, the Western public has the opportunity to see such a broad and thorough presentation of Ukrainian Modernism in all its stylistic diversity without a Russian narrative.
Curators: Olena Kashuba-Volvach, Kostiantyn Akinsha, Kateryna Denysova
Exhibition in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is the first stage of great international initiative aimed at securing Ukrainian cultural heritage and demonstrating it in Europe.