NEW YORK – On Saturday, September 30, The Ukrainian Museum (UM) greets the new season with “Fall for Art,” a cocktail soiree and art auction celebrating the treasured institution’s past, present and – most importantly – future.
With catering by another local East Village landmark, Veselka, and a special musical performance by pianist Adriana Helbig, the evening offers a chance for members to reconnect with fellow supporters of the museum and for newcomers to discover this cultural gem and see it as its festive best.
While staying true to its central mission of acquiring, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting articles of artistic or historic significance to the rich cultural heritage of Ukrainians, since moving into its state-of-the-art space on East Sixth street in 2005, the museum has greatly elevated its standing in the city’s cultural firmament. Exhibitions have been reviewed in major publications like the New York Times, and Channel 13 has run multiple segments on museum programming.
In many ways, the works of art generously donated for auction over the course of the evening speak most clearly to the museum’s evolution over the past decade.
An original Alexander Archipenko lithograph is a reminder of the survey of the great artist’s oeuvre – “Alexander Archipenko: Vision and Continuity” – that inaugurated the museum in its new iteration and was heralded as one of the most elegant and comprehensive presentations of his work to date. In this way it is doubly valuable, both for the chance to add a work by this modern master to one’s collection and for the important chapter in museum history it represents.
A work of David Burliuk, “Circus” (1936), donated by his granddaughter Mary Clare Burliuk, underscores the central role the artist played as a pioneer of 20th century Modernism.
Artists in the auction also represent the vitality of the diaspora’s artistic scene. Works of artists such as Jacques Hnizdovsky, Mykhailo Moroz and others are universally admired by the Ukrainian community and beyond.
“Seated and Standing Figures” (1962, lithograph, 1962) by Alexander Archipenko.
Another major contribution to the auction is that of a number of Ukrainian women artists who were featured in The Ukrainian Museum’s 2015 group exhibition “The Ukrainian Diaspora: Women Artists 1908-2015,” a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, which founded the museum in 1976.
In late 2016, the “CIM” group show at the museum – featuring seven accomplished contemporary artists of a Ukrainian background – created space, both literally and metaphorically, for a new generation of accomplished artists with diverse aesthetic backgrounds and approaches to take center stage. Works donated by members of the “CIM” show – from Maya Hayuk’s colorful, internationally coveted, graffiti-inspired canvases to the cerebral, neo-Constructivist drawings of Cooper Union professor and acclaimed artist Yuri Masnij – represent the cutting-edge of the contemporary art world, with resonance beyond the Ukrainian heritage of their creators.
A complete list of the artists as well as more information about the “Fall for Art” event can be found at www.ukrainianmuseum.org.
The Ukrainian Museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St., New York, NY 10003; telephone, 212-228-0110; e-mail, [email protected]; website, www.ukrainianmuseum.org.