Long-awaited Ukrainian modernism exhibit stirs Chicago audience (08/13/06)

Long-awaited Ukrainian modernism exhibit stirs Chicago audience

by Marta Farion

CHICAGO - The long-awaited exhibition of early 20th century Ukrainian art made a dramatic American debut on July 20 when approximately 300 persons attended the exhibit's opening reception at the Chicago Cultural Center. Titled "Crossroads: Modernism in Ukraine, 1910-1930," the unique collection of more than 70 works assembled from both museum and private holdings will remain in Chicago until it resumes its national tour in October when it moves to The Ukrainian Museum in New York City.

The international avant-garde movement that reached its peak during the first three decades of the 20th century included many influential and innovative artists from Ukraine. As elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, these artists were often persecuted and executed in the 1930s and their works were banned or destroyed. According to local experts, nearly 2,000 of these works were confiscated by the government during the late 1930s, and only 300 remain today. This exhibition presents the best of these works, many of which have only recently been viewed outside of Ukraine.

Opening ceremonies

Chicago's commissioner of cultural affairs, the legendary Lois Weisberg, addressed the opening ceremony and stated, "I am delighted to see the works of these world-renowned artists in Chicago. It is the first time that these works appear in the United States. These works are masterpieces of 20th century art. Every person who visits this exhibit will see the grandeur of Ukrainian culture."

Deputy Chicago commissioner of Visual Arts, Gregory Knight, of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs also addressed the exhibit's opening and thanked those who initiated, organized, managed and financed it.

"This exhibit of modern art from Ukraine opens the door to the art treasures of Ukraine which were banned and hidden all these years and to the Ukrainian artists whose names we have known and others whom we learn about for the first time. Crossroads explores the role of Ukraine in the development of the avant-garde movement," said Mr. Knight.

"This exhibit includes works by well-known artists like Kazimir Malevich, Alexandra Exter, Anatoly Petrytsky, Mykhailo Boichuk and David Burliuk, and introduces American audiences to previously unknown Ukrainian artists including Yasyl Yermylov and Oleksander Bohomazov," he added.

Attending the Chicago opening was Ukrainian Minister of Culture Ihor Likhovij, who introduced the exhibit with a letter of greetings from Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. President Yushchenko wrote: "The mutual efforts of many individuals in Ukraine and the United States will allow thousands of viewers in the United States to familiarize themselves with another aspect of the art of Ukraine. This exhibit marks the beginning of a new era of cultural exchanges between Ukraine and the United States."

Minister Likhovij added: "The artists who created these works represent a very difficult and sad era when Soviet repression resulted in their persecution, and often death. It is difficult for us now to understand that art was the target of political repression, but these artists refused to cave in to pressure and left the world a significant contribution in the arts. I am grateful to the organizers who made this exhibit possible and to Mayor Richard and Mrs. Maggie Daley, who visited Kyiv last year and supported the project in Chicago."

Other guests from Ukraine

Accompanying Minister Likhovij from Kyiv to Chicago was Anatoly Melnyk, director of the National Art Museum of Ukraine; Ludmyla Kovalska, deputy director; as well as the museum's restorers Tamara Gerzhan and Iryna Demydchuk.

Also present at the opening ceremony were respected art historians Dmytro Horbachov and Prince Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky, who co-curated and assembled the unique exhibit from the holdings of the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Theater Museum, the Museum of Folk Art of the Ukraine, the Art Museum of Dnipropetrovsk and from private collections. Doug Robinson provided restoration and installation expertise.

Other guests at the Chicago opening included Ukraine's diplomats, Ambassador to the United Nations Valeriy Kuchinsky and Ukrainian Consul General in Chicago Vasyl Korzachenko. Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oleh Shamshur, who supported the exhibit in its various aspects, was unable to attend because of airport weather conditions in Chicago.

Mr. Melnyk noted the exhibit's impressive presentation and said, "It is an honor to present these masterpieces of avant-garde art to the public in the United States. It is time for the world to recognize Ukraine's contribution to contemporary art."

Organizers and sponsors

The exhibition's American tour was organized by the National Art Museum of Ukraine and the Foundation for International Arts and Education, whose president, Gregory Guroff, poured energy, experience and dedication into the project. It took years to find, identify, restore and gather these works.

In Chicago, the exhibit was presented by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and the Kyiv Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International Program.

Marta Farion, chairman of the Chicago Kyiv Sister Cities Committee, who served as the co-host of the opening with Gregory Knight, emphasized the historical significance of bringing these works to the United States. She noted the substantial contributions and support of numerous individuals among the professional staff and the significant resources of the Department of Cultural Affairs. "The 16 years of exchanges and cooperation between Chicago and Kyiv made this opening possible," Ms. Farion stated.

The Chicago exhibition and opening were sponsored with the generous support of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Chicago Sister Cities International Program, UA-TV, LLC as principal sponsor and Hyatt International Corp. as principal co-sponsor. Additional support came from Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, Heritage Foundation of First Security Federal Savings Bank and an anonymous donor.

The exhibit's national tour in the United States is sponsored by The Boeing Company, The Trust for Mutual Understanding, Nour USA Ltd., Konstantin Grigorishin and Aerosvit Airlines. Additional financial support was provided by Oleksander Tabalov, Mykola M. Shymone, Dean Buntrock and Chadbourne & Parke, LLP. Other support was provided by the Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, the Embassy of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Consulate General of Chicago.

The exhibit in print

Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs published colorful brochures for distribution to all visitors for the duration of the show. Some 40,000 visitors are expected at the exhibit's premier venue, located in Chicago's loop next to Millennium Park. Exhibit catalogues, published in Ukraine, contain color reproductions and a collection of essays in Ukrainian and English and are on sale for $50 at the Cultural Center's gift shop or are available to order online at http://www.chicagostore.com/.

In the exhibition catalogue, Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky writes: "This exhibit is designed to show an American audience the talent and unique nature of Ukrainian avant-garde art and to help understand that the artists are, indeed, Ukrainian, not Russian, a difference not always appreciated in the West. Moreover, the exhibition is equally important because it will also help Ukrainians acquaint themselves with their own cultural heritage."

During the exhibit's first week, the Ukrainian collection received significant coverage in Chicago's newspapers.

The Chicago Tribune's art critic Alan G. Artner wrote:

"The Orange Revolution of 2004 not only focused attention on contemporary politics and art in Ukraine but also prompted a look at the early decades of the 20th Century when the capital city Kiev [sic] had an art scene as progressive as almost any in the world and several of its artists were leaders in the international avant-garde ... What they created was in the forefront of the most radical art produced anywhere, and for the first time in memory it is discussed (in superb catalogue essays) in relation to the history and traditions of Ukraine as well as such Western art movements as Cubism and Futurism."

Chicago Sun-Times art critic Kevin Nance wrote:

"What might not occur to many Americans - for reasons having to do with the country's reluctant mingling with Russia and, later, the Soviet Union - is Ukraine's contribution to the modern art movements that percolated throughout Europe and the United States in the early 20th century.

"A casual walk through of the exhibit - the first of its kind in the United States - can tend to leave you with the impression of a polyglot, aggressively cosmopolitan art that lacked easily discernible national characteristics. Those trendy Ukrainians! They dipped their brushes into virtually every paint can of the avant garde, from Cubism and Futurism to (belatedly) Art Nouveau and (early on) Constructivism. That last movement, widely considered a Russian phenomenon, was actually pioneered in part by a cadre of native or adopted Ukrainians. ...

"There's a distinctly Ukrainian lushness that adheres to even the most severe compositions here - such as Kazimir Malevich's 'suprematist' images, with their subtle use of Christian symbols - and deepens into outright decadence in the overheated canvases of Vsevolod Maksymovych."

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