Landmark exhibit to focus on Ukrainian avant-garde, 1910-1935

WINNIPEG - "The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde, 1910-1935," which will see its Canadian debut at The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) on October 10, brings together over 70 works, highlighting the signficant contribution of Ukrainian artists to the international avant-garde scene.

The exhibit is organized by Mary Jo Hughes, WAG curator of historical art, with Dr. Myroslav Shkandrij, professor of Slavic studies at the University of Manitoba, guest curator.

The exhibit and the accompanying catalogue examine the contribution made by artists from Ukraine to the various movements associated with the avant-garde during the first three decades of the 20th century. Apart from the innovative aspect of the artists' work, the exhibit encompases various aspects of the art of the period, including artistic repression.

The avant-garde came to the fore at a time of massive political upheaval, i.e., in the years preceding and following World War I and the Russian Revolution. The movement was marked by a prodigious outburst of creative energy, which was to influence and inspire generations of artists to come.

As noted in the WAG Tableau, in a movement that was international in scope, bringing together artists from such centers as Paris, Munich, Berlin, Moscow and Kyiv, "It is often overlooked that many of the most influential and innovative avant-garde artists came from Ukraine." Among them were such major figures as the Suprematist Kasimir Malevich, the Constructivist Vladimir Tatlin, the Cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko, the Futurist David Burliuk, and costume and set designer Alexandra Ekster [Exter].

The period 1910-1935 also saw the best work produced by such artists as the neo-primitivist Maria Syniakova, the Constructivist Vasyl Yermilov, and the monumentalist school grouped around Mykhailo Boichuk, who sought to create a national art, drawing upon both regional folk traditions and international modernist movements. Also active during this period were artists like Mark Epstein, who drew inspiration from the revival of Jewish culture, as well as Anatol Petrytsky and Vadym Meller, who took part in the vibrant theatrical life of the 1920s.

Under the Stalinist regime, avant-garde art became politically unacceptable. Some of the artists were persecuted and executed in the 1930s; the work of many more was banned or destroyed.

Some 2,000 works were confiscated by the government in 1936-1937, coming to form the so-called Spetsfond (Special Collection), whose existence was expunged from all records.

As noted in the WAG Tableau, "During the Nazi occupation of Kyiv in 1941, the entire Spetsfond collection was shipped out of the city and sent to Germany. After the second world war only around 300 works were returned, and were again interned in the vaults of the Kyiv Museum (Kyiv's National Art Museum). About a quarter of the works in the current exhibition are taken from the 300 surviving Spetsfond works, and have never been shown outside Ukraine."

Following Ukraine's independence in 1991, a number of retrospective exhibitions of Ukrainian avant-garde art were mounted in Ukraine, and previously unknown or banned works were at last shown.

This is the first time that an exhibition devoted entirely to the Ukrainian avant-garde is being shown in North America. The 70 works include some of the best and most representative pieces produced from 1910-1935.

The majority of works on exhibit are borrowed from Kyiv's National Art Museum, as well as from the State Museum of Ukrainian Theater, Music and Film Arts, and from private collections.

After its opening at WAG, where the exhibit will be on view until January 13, 2002, "The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde, 1910-1935" will be shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Edmonton Art Gallery.

The guest of honor at the public opening of the exhibit on October 10 in Winnipeg will be Peter Liba, lieutenant-governor of Manitoba.

The WAG has organized a comprehensive program of tours, videos and lectures around the exhibition. Appearing as part of the lecture program offered in conjunction with the exhibition are the following:

• Dr. Myroslav Shkandrij, professor of Slavic studies, University of Manitoba, and guest curator of exhibit, who will speak on "The Forbidden Art: The Works of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde, 1910-1935. Their Survival and Recent Rediscovery" - October 24;
  
  
• Dr. Oliver Botar, assistant professor of art history, School of Art, University of Manitoba, will discuss Alexander Archipenko's career from 1908 to the early 1920s - November 14;
  
  
• Mary Jo Hughes, exhibit organizer and curator of historical art, WAG, "The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde, 1910-1935" - November 21;
  
  
• Jasmina Jovanovic-Vlaovic, head conservator, WAG, "From Darkness to Light: The Remarkable Story Behind the Making of the Exhibition 'The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-garde 1910-1935' " - December 5.

A documentary video titled "Breaking Free of the Earth: Kazimir Malevich, 1878-1935" will be shown on November 14.

For more information visit on this and other WAG exhibits and programs, visit WAG's website: www.WAG.MB.CA

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"The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-garde, 1910-1935" is presented by AIM Funds Management Inc. and is organized and circulated by The Winnipeg Art Gallery. It is made possible with the financial assistance of the Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage; The Winnipeg Art Gallery Foundation Inc.; the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko; and Taras and Emilia Snihurowycz.

The exhibit is WAG's second major exhibition dedicated to Ukrainian art. A decade ago the Winnipeg Art Gallery, jointly with the National Art Museum in Kyiv, presented "Spirit of Ukraine: 500 Years of Painting," with Carol Phillips, then director of the WAG, Canadian curator of the exhibition.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, September 30, 2001, No. 39, Vol. LXIX

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