In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 - 1930s

The exhibition "In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s" in Madrid presented ground-breaking art created in Ukraine in the first decades of the 20th century, reflecting trends that range from figurative to abstract art.

The range of works has been taken on loan from the National Art Museum of Ukraine and
the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema Arts of Ukraine, as well as private collections.

Following a chronological order, the exhibition presented to the audience works by masters of Ukrainian modernism, such as Oleksandr Bohomazov, Vasyl Yermilov, Vadym Meller, 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 includes artworks of internationally renowned artists who were born and started their careers in Ukraine and eventually received their fame abroad (Alexandra Exter, Wladimir Baranoff-Rossiné, and Sonia Delaunay).

The artists in the exhibition: Wladimir Baranoff-Rossiné, Oleksandr Bohomazov, Mykhailo Boichuk, Tymofii Boichuk, Davyd Burliuk, Volodymyr Burliuk, Sonia Delaunay, Marko Epshtein, Alexandra Exter, Kyrylo Hvozdyk, Mykola Kasperovych, Oleksandr Khvostenko-Khvostov, Borys Kosarev, El Lissitzky, Kazymyr Malevych, Vadym Meller, Ivan Padalka, Viktor Palmov, Anatol Petrytskyi, Issakhar Ber Ryback, Vasyl Sedliar, Manuil Shekhtman, Oleksandr Syrotenko, Kostiantyn Yeleva, Vasyl Yermilov, Semen Yoffe.

The curators: Konstantin Akinsha, an independent art historian, curator, and journalist; Katia Denysova, a PhD candidate at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; and Olena Kashuba-Volvach, the head of the Department of 19th and early 20th-Century Art at the NAMU.