On June 15th at 16.00, the Beyeler Fondation (Basel, Switzerland) will host a presentation of the Ukrainian project, "In the Eye of the Storm. Modernism in Ukraine 1900-1930’s".

Main image: Oleksandr Bogomazov, "Funeral", 1920

Ukrainian modernism as a distinctive art movement has long stayed in the shadow of Russian art. Nowadays there is no doubt that modernism was a unique art phenomenon in Ukraine formed out of European modernism in symbiosis with traditional folk art.

«In the Eye of the Storm. Modernism in Ukraine 1900’s – 1930’s» – the name of the large-scale project that would be implemented in autumn 2022. It will be the comprehensive display of Ukrainian Art from the beginning of the 20th century to be shown in a leading European institution.

The main aim of the project is to show Ukrainian modernism as a unique art phenomenon that has lain too long in the Russian shadow. The first comprehensive display of Ukrainian Art from the beginning of the 20th century to be shown in the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid, Spain. The show will include around 100 works from the leading Ukrainian museums, public and private collections in the West (loans from the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Austria).

The exhibition will be produced in partnership with Ukrainian institutions, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal Museum Complex, Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre, and others.

The curatorial group includes Dr. Konstantin Akinsha (USA/Italy), art critic and co-founder of the Foundation for the Study of the Avant-Garde, Kateryna Denysova, PhD Candidate at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and Olena Kashuba-Volvach, PhD in Art Studies, Head of the Department of of Art of early 19th-20th cent. at the National Art Museum of Ukraine.

The joint organisers of the presentation are the charity foundation "Art for Victory UA" and M17 Contemporary Art Center in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Institute will present an extensive film programme focusing on Ukrainian modernist cinematography. In addition, comprehensive catalogs will be published in English.

The exhibition includes works by Ukrainian artists: Oleksandr Bogomazov, Olexandra Exter, Volodymyr and David Burliuk, Victor Palmov, Vasyl Yermуlov, Anatol Petrytsky, Vadym Meller and others.

The partners of the presentation: The Beyeler Fondation, The Natalia Cola Foundation, The Ukrainian Institute, Artcult Foundation, Artelia consultancy and the Ukrainian project "Strong & Precious".