September 18 – October 12, 2014
The art project “Strength of
Materials” – an author of the idea is Mykola Zhuravel - with the participation
of Volodymyr Bakhtov, Petro Bevza, Oleksandr Hliadielov, Mykola Zhuravel, Larysa
Pukhanova, Anatolii Tverdyi, Viktor Khomenko, initiated by the Foundation for
Cultural Initiatives ArtHuss and the Modern Art Research Institute– is an attempt to release the art discourse
from the excess of journalism and conjuncture that emerged around the events
related to Maidan and the Russian invasion.
Playing with conceptual antitheses of contemporary art, creating dichotomous pairs - soft and hard, a victim and victimhood - a group of authors chose an image of a soft toy as a symbol of an awkward, sweet tempered Ukrainian, who for many years represented the image of a victim, ready to suffer violence passively accepting the punishment. The change that occurred with many Ukrainians during the last year means a break with a victim complex and existential jump into a state of resistance and active readiness to cope. The project attempted to investigate what personalities and hidden spiritual factors of the Ukrainian’s nature helped him to accept the challenge of time and made this leap possible. So a previous page of the history of Ukraine is already turned. Old stereotypes are dying. We are witnessing the birth of a freedom-loving, courageous man who aims to be a creator of his own destiny.
The team of authors implements the idea of the project using modern artistic means.
Opening of the project will be held on September 18, 2014 at 18:00 p.m. in the exhibition hall of the Modern Art Research Institute of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine (18-d Shchorsa Str., Kyiv).
Author of the project idea – Mykola Zhuravel.
Text by – Mykola Skyba
Commissioner of the project– Kostiantyn Kozhemiaka
Produced by – the Foundation for Cultural Initiatives ArtHuss
Partners: - Institutional – The Modern Art Research Institute
- General media-partner – business portal DELO.ua
- Partner of the Project – kmbs
- Exhibitional – All-Ukrainian Creative Union of Artists “BZh-Art”
- Carrier – CARGO Service
- Printing partner of the project –Family Publishing House huss
- Cultural partners: Artcult foundation, Tereshchinkivsky Foundation
