A retrospective exhibition of artist, designer, and sixties figure Lyubov Panchenko has opened at the Kyiv History Museum. This marks the first retrospective exhibition of the Ukrainian artist, whose name gained global recognition only after her tragic death during the Russian occupation of Bucha in 2022.
Lyubov Panchenko, one of the most prominent names of the Ukrainian sixties, was initially trained as an embroidery artist and became widely known as a designer and costume creator. In the 1960s, she worked as a fashion designer at the Khrushchatyk Model House, a legendary Kyiv fashion house. She also engaged in painting, graphic design, and embroidery, creating traditional clothing and costumes for Ukrainian choirs and other artistic groups. During the Soviet era, Panchenko did not have solo exhibitions and faced persecution from authorities, with her major exhibition projects beginning only in the 1990s-2000s.
The exhibition "The Universe of Liubov" features sketches of clothing designs, various garments and accessories, paintings, collages, decorative paintings, photographs, and personal items. Curators Olena Lodzynska and Varvara Sukhenko explore the uniqueness of Lyubov Panchenko's creative style, the environment in which her worldview developed, and why she did not receive the recognition she deserved during her lifetime.
The exhibition also presents Panchenko's life within the context of the socio-political processes of the time and her connections with figures such as Vyacheslav Chornovil, Mykola Plakhotniuk, Alla Horska, and Liudmyla Semykina.
The exhibition was prepared by the Kyiv History Museum in collaboration with the Sixtiers Museum, where Panchenko had donated her entire creative legacy before her death. Over 500 exhibits are currently being processed, restored, and studied by researchers and specialists.
The exhibition The Universe of Liubov will run until June 1.
Photo courtesy of the Kyiv History Museum
