Ukrainian Artists Reflect on Russia’s War at Expo Chicago

Since the start of The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Max and Julia Voloshyn, the husband and wife co-founders of Kyiv’s Volochyn Gallery, worked tirelessly in exile and participated in fairs across Europe and the United States. This month, in addition to exhibiting at Art Brussels (April 20-23), they will present the works of two Ukrainian artists on their stand at Expo Chicago. “We have to continue our work,” say the dealers. “The art scene is another front we’re fighting on.”

At Expo, the Voloshyns will showcase works by conceptual artist Mykola Ridnyi and painter Oleksiy Sai that reflect the trauma of the Russian invasion in very different ways. The concrete sculptures of Ridnyi Shelter series (2012-13) are based on the shapes of Soviet-era bomb shelters found throughout Ukraine, which were abandoned or repurposed in the years following the end of the Cold War, for reuse after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and since last year’s invasion. by Saï Bombed The series (2020), on the other hand, consists of earlier canvases in which the artist rubs, sands and drills holes, transforming them into abstract compositions that look like aerial views of landscapes with craters crossed by trenches.

In addition to their international fair route, the Voloshyns are also reopening their space in Kyiv after closing it at the start of the invasion. “This is our contribution not only to the future of culture of independent Ukraine, but also a significant contribution to victory itself,” the dealers say. “We have to work for our people.”

Ridnyi and Sai’s works are likely to find a receptive audience in Chicago: more than 50,000 people in the city claim Ukrainian heritage, making it the second-largest concentration of Ukrainian Americans after New York. It also houses the Ukrainian National Museum and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Artboth located in the Ukrainian Village district, making it a hub of Ukrainian cultural activity.