Ukrainian Modernism at the Royal Academy
The exhibition 'In the eye of the storm: Modernism in Ukraine 1900-1930' can be visited in London until 13 October
2' min read
2' min read
The title of the Royal Academy's exhibition dedicated to Ukrainian art could not be more apt: In the eye of the storm. It refers to both the past and the present.
In war-torn Ukraine, to escape Russian bombing that could have destroyed the National Art Museum in Kiev, the 65 paintings that are now on display in London were packed up two years ago and loaded onto trucks bound for Poland and safety.
The paintings reflect the storms of a century ago: they are works created in the first thirty years of the 20th century, a tumultuous period of collapsing empires, world war, revolution in Russia, violence and occupation.
From this dramatic context - Ukraine's independence was short-lived, from 1918 to 1922, the year of Soviet occupation - dynamic and bold, innovative and experimental artists emerged. The brilliance and intensity of the colours seem to be a hymn to life, a creative challenge to counteract the reality of an increasingly darkened world.
Ukrainian artists are the product of their country's troubled history, and of cultures and traditions that are rich because they were born from the fusion of Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish and Polish peoples. Sonia Stern Delaunay was born in Odessa to Jewish parents, Kazimir Malevich was born in Kiev to Polish parents, Davyd Burliuk was born in Russia to a Ukrainian father and Belarusian mother.
