NEW YORK – “Re:Create – Christina Saj’s Transformative Paintings” is an installation by the Ukrainian American contemporary artist currently on view at The Ukrainian Museum. The artworks on display in the “Re:Create” gallery greet the viewer with an explosion of vivid color and myriad stylized shapes that allude to nature as well as constructed objects.
However, the 12 compositions with Ms. Saj’s signature bright and colorfully patterned palette are much more than just works of art to be appreciated and studied. The artist invites visitors to take part in the creative process by changing her paintings, and then invites online viewers to participate by studying these various “new” versions.
The installation thus functions on two levels: a tactile and transformative experience for those who visit the gallery in person, and a visual feast in virtual space for those who choose to watch the exhibition’s evolution online. The museum hopes “Re:Create” will be equally engaging and cathartic for the participant who joins the artist as a collaborator, and for the online observer of the evolving images.
Christina Saj’s “Above the Clouds” (2018, mixed media on steel panel, 70 x 42 inches).
Each piece in the exhibition is a large, titled, metal-backed panel painted by Ms. Saj. The artist’s painted images act as a framework upon which visitors can build a personalized new work. The viewer is asked to respond to the painted panels not by adding more paint but by working with a variety of pre-painted, magnetized objects – abstract, figurative, patterned, big, small – designed to adhere to the panels. Visitors can add, remove, and rearrange the pieces as they see fit, and then post photographs of their creations on Instagram using the #RecreateAtUM hashtag.
Thus, Ms. Saj’s original works provide a backdrop for the new creations, and the interaction by visitors offers a multidimensional experience that is at once instructional, insightful, imaginative and, above all, stimulating and fun.
As museum visitors increasingly seek to engage in more immersive experiences, Ms. Saj meets the challenge in this groundbreaking exhibition by changing the dialogue between artist and viewer. She encourages the audience to co-create a piece of art which then remains as part of the virtual exhibition. Participants documenting their work using the Instagram hashtag #RecreateAtUM allow their rendering to become part of a continuous feed of images created for the duration of the installation. Following #RecreateAtUM allows avid Instagram users to watch an ever-transforming portfolio of art through the exhibition’s lifetime.
Making art is a visceral activity, and Ms. Saj’s goal with this installation is to engage casual museum visitors as “co-artists” without getting bogged down by messy materials and long involved processes. Their actions and reactions are immediate, and the resulting works become part of a dialogue between collaborators.
“I want visitors to experience working with color, shape, and ideas in order to see how abstraction and pattern happen and relate, and how combinations of different images allow for reinvention and even distortion of meaning. I am thus inviting the otherwise casual observer to become co-creator and to engage in thinking like an artist. As artists, we are always being asked to explain our process, and here I have consciously allowed the audience in with the intent to encourage individual commitment to the creative process,” she explains.
Ms. Saj wants visitors who have never created a painting before to think about their compositions in ways that artists are trained to do. She hopes that the experience will leave participants with a deeper understanding and more rewarding encounters with artworks everywhere.
The project was conceived when Membership Committee member Christina Lewicky approached Ms. Saj about designing a participatory art experience for college students, with the goal of acquainting a new generation with The Ukrainian Museum. Nearly a year of planning and production went into the effort, resulting in this novel and cutting-edge installation with wide-ranging appeal to visitors of all ages. Robert Farrell, Ms. Saj’s husband, assisted with the exhibition installation, and contributed his technological expertise and equipment to the project.
Organized tours of “Re:Create” are encouraged, and in some cases arrangements may be made to invite the artist herself as the instructional guide. Individual visitors may enjoy the exhibition anytime during gallery hours, but groups must make advance reservations due to limited capacity.
“Re:Create” will be on view through April 27.
About The Ukrainian Museum
The Ukrainian Museum acquires, preserves and exhibits articles of artistic or historic significance to the rich cultural heritage of Ukrainian Americans; its collections include thousands of items of folk art, fine art, and archival material. At its founding in 1976 by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, the museum was hailed as one of the finest achievements of Americans of Ukrainian descent. Since then, and particularly since its move in 2005 to a new, state-of-the-art building in Manhattan’s vibrant East Village, it has become known as one of the most interesting and dynamic smaller museums in New York City. Each year, the museum organizes several exhibitions, publishes bilingual (English-Ukrainian) catalogues, and presents a wide range of public and educational programs, including concerts, films, lectures, courses, workshops and special events.
The Ukrainian Museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St. (between Second Avenue and The Bowery), New York, NY 10003; telephone, 212-228-0110; e-mail, [email protected]; website, www.ukrainianmuseum.org.