At the Ukrainian Museum, conversation and connections about borders

This fall, New York-based artist Molly Gochman presents "UKR|RUS" and "Dispersed Geographies," which are "two sculptural multi-sited, city-wide installations accompanied by community events and activations, all meant to initiate conversation around borders and prompt reflection on the ongoing war, while simultaneously uniting the Ukrainian communities of NYC." 

Tomorrow (Saturday) from noon to 5 p.m., Gochman is hosting a Community Activation Event, a block party of sorts outside the Ukrainian Museum on Sixth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square "that will serve as an opportunity to engage with her new works as well as participate in protests, workshops, and more." 

Meanwhile, you may have seen white vinyl pieces situated on sidewalks around the East Village. EVG reader Jacob Ford shared the photo below. Before we heard about "Dispersed Geographies," he tracked down the source of the sidewalk markings. 

Per the organizers:

"'Dispersed Geographies' translates the Ukraine-Russia border into a two-dimensional form, cut from white vinyl into segments. Using the sidewalk as a canvas, Gochman invites the public to interact with the city as a microcosm of the larger world." 

Read more about the project here. Find a Google Map with the pieces here.

"UKR|RUS" will be at the museum through the end of the year.

President Zelensky visits the Ukrainian Museum

Top photo: Office of the President of Ukraine via @ukrainianmuseum 

2nd photo: Adriana Leshko 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska visited the Ukrainian Museum in the East Village on Monday. 

The President and First Lady officially opened the Museum's new exhibit, "Alexandra Exter: The Stage is a World," on Sixth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. 

Ukrainian Museum Director Peter Doroshenko gave the two a tour of the exhibit. Zelensky then sat down for a meeting and discussion with members of the Ukrainian community, moderated by Oksana Markarova, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States.

The Art Newspaper has more about the presidential visit here. 

Zelenskyy is in the U.S. this week to attend the UN General Assembly. 

The Exeter show opens today. Per the Museum: 

Marking the first solo showcase of her work in North America, it offers a comprehensive exploration of Exter's pioneering career from 1913 to 1934. Featuring over thirty paintings and works on paper, the exhibition highlights her early abstractions and avant-garde theater contributions. Through collaboration with Ukrainian and U.S. museums, as well as international private collectors, this survey delves into Exter's influential contributions to theater and cinema, presenting both rare and iconic pieces beloved by art lovers around the world. 

The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 19. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. 

BTW, a membership to The Ukrainian Museum makes for a nice gift.

The Ukrainian Museum revisits the early work of East Village-based photographer Peter Hujar

Peter Hujar, Young Self Portrait (IV), 1958 

Courtesy The Ukrainian Museum/©The Peter Hujar Archive

The Ukrainian Museum on Sixth Street presents 75 photographs that feature some of the earliest work of iconic East Village-based photographer Peter Hujar (1934-1987). 

Here's more via the Museum: 

He was born to an immigrant family, and his Ukrainian grandmother raised him exclusively in the Ukrainian language until he was 5 years old. His difficult and unstable upbringing in a troubled household influenced his artistry and vision significantly as Hujar turned to a career in photography. 

And... 

The life and art of Peter Hujar were synonymous with a downtown New York that no longer exists. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the East Village was an urban buffet of creativity and danger, yet always vibrant and inexpensive. Private by nature, combative in manner, well-read, and widely connected, Hujar inhabited a world of the known and unknown.

This exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum will feature 75 of Hujar’s earliest photographs — from 1955 until 1969. Portraits, country landscapes, and city life will be the focus of the exhibition. Yet, three important vectors or series that appeared in his work during this period will also be highlighted in-depth for the first time: the Southbury (1957), the Florence (1958), and the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (1963).

"Peter Hujar: Rialto" opens tomorrow (May 2) and will be displayed through Sept. 1. 

The Ukrainian Museum, located at 226 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. (Several members-only events related to the exhibition are also available here.) 

Hujar died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1987. He was 53.

Hujar lived and worked above the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theater (today, the Village East by Angelika) on Second Avenue at 12th Street. Read more about the space where Jackie Curtis and David Wojnarowicz lived before and after Hujar right here.

About 'the War of the Mushrooms' at the Ukrainian Museum

Here's information about a timely new exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum, 222 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, opening tomorrow (April 3).

Via the EVG inbox... 

"The War of the Mushrooms" is a group of 10 original illustrations by Ukrainian artist Nikita Kravtsov. Drawing inspiration from the eponymous folk tale, a popular classic in Slavic cultures and the subject of a 1909 publication of the tale featuring illustrations by the prominent Ukrainian graphic artist, Heorhii Narbut, Kravtsov's contemporary interpretation reimagines the tale with paintings of scenes from Russia's current war on Ukraine. 

Mushroom soldiers shoot mushroom missiles at projectiles fired from Russia onto Ukrainian soil, cities, and innocent civilians. The creative pictures drawn by Kravtsov in pencil and painted in vivid colors should not be misunderstood as simple cartoons and illustrations one finds in comic books. The subject matter is serious and representative of the massive assault by Russia on Ukraine and Ukrainian culture. Kravtsov reacts to the unwarranted war and the destruction levied on his homeland in his own inimitable style.

Kravtsov will be on-hand for the exhibition opening tomorrow. 

The Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find more details here. 

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Artwork from the series "The War of the Mushrooms," Nikita Kravtsov/Courtesy of the Ukrainian Museum 

Photo of Kravtsov by Alex Neprel/Courtesy of the Ukrainian Museum

The Ukrainian Museum is back open on 6th Street

The Ukrainian Museum reopened on May 5 at 222 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square ... back for the first time since the PAUSE in March 2020. 

Among the current exhibits: "In Bloom: Nature and Art," which "explores the impact of the flower motif through the prism of Ukraine’s folk art traditions and the works of its preeminent artists of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries." 

The museum, founded in 1976 by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

There is a limited capacity for now and masks are required. You can check out the visitor info page for more details.

Virtual 'Spring Rituals' via the Ukrainian Museum on Saturday evening

The Ukrainian Museum on Sixth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square is hosting a virtual event this Saturday evening titled "Ukrainian Spring Rituals: Songs & Conversation."

Here are details via the EVG inbox...

This celebration of Easter and spring will lead off with a brief discussion of Ukraine's rich Easter traditions and their pre-Christian pagan roots by Lubow Wolynetz, the Museum's curator of folk art, followed by performances of traditional Ukrainian springtime melodies by Go_A (Ukraine), Balaklava Blues (Canada), and Ukrainian Village Voices (U.S.).  

 Our special guests from Kyiv, Go_A, draw inspiration from traditional vocal repertoires associated with springtime rituals. Go_A is Ukraine's official entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam on May 18–22, a competition that draws millions of viewers around the globe. Go_A has recorded a special set specifically for The Ukrainian Museum.

Iryna Voloshyna, a graduate student at Indiana University's Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, conducted an interview with the electro-folk group's members, which will be presented during the event. 

You can find more details about the event at this link ... find the free registration details here. The program begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Ukrainian Museum remains closed during the pandemic. You can check out their virtual exhibits here.

On 6th Street, the Ukrainian Museum debuting Andy Warhol exhibit this weekend

Here's part of the announcement via the EVG inbox...

The Ukrainian Museum is delighted to announce that it will open the exhibition "Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" to the public on Sunday, Oct. 7. Commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Andy Warhol (1928-1987), this is the first Warhol exhibition ever organized by a Ukrainian American organization.

"Endangered Species" is on loan from the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyo. James Warhola, an artist, writer, book illustrator and nephew of Andy Warhol, is a special contributor to the displays in the exhibition.

The exhibition includes the 10 silkscreens in the "Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" series from 1983 — Bighorn Ram, Black Rhinoceros, Grevy's Zebra, Orangutan, San Francisco Silverspot, African Elephant, Bald Eagle, Siberian Tiger, Pine Barrens Tree Frog, and Giant Panda — as well as the silkscreen Sea Turtle (1985).

An important component of the show at The Ukrainian Museum will be a section dedicated to Andy Warhol's early years growing up in Pittsburgh. At the vanguard of the Pop Art movement, Warhol is recognized as one of its greatest architects. But the influences from his youth, when he was immersed in the culture of his Carpatho-Rusyn origins, impacted his evolution into a world-renowned artist.

This exhibition not only features the still relevant "Endangered Species" series, but also looks at Warhol's heritage and other inspirations from his early years that spurred him along the path toward becoming one of the most influential American artists. Augmenting the "Endangered Species" exhibition are several early drawings by Warhol, as well as a few personal artifacts and family photo prints.

You can find more details at this link.

The Ukrainian Museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. Museum hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" will be on view through Feb. 17.

Kinofest NYC kicks off tomorrow; a weekend of films in the East Village

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Kinofest NYC is proud to announce its program for its fourth festival featuring films from Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries. This year's festival will include 10 screenings, presenting more than 25 short and 4 feature films from independent filmmakers from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the UK and the US.

The festival will kick off tomorrow at the Ukrainian Institute of America, 2 E. 79th St, and will end on Sunday. Film screenings will take place at two East Village cultural institutions: The Ukrainian Museum, 222 E. 6th St., and the Anthology Film Archives at 32 Second Ave.

This year's festival will feature seven short films from the Kyiv-based collective called "Goodbye, Ukraine!" In 2012, this group of filmmakers completed an anthology of 34 short films that examine and explore the reasons why hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have left their country since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. According to a recent report by the BBC, 1.5 million Ukrainians have left their homeland in search of greater economic opportunities that are not available in Ukraine.

Go here for schedule and ticket information.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Andrew Kotliar, festival director for Kinofest NYC

'A Singular Vision' opens today at The Ukrainian Museum

From the EV Grieve inbox ... via The Ukrainian Museum at 222 E. Sixth St. ...

A Singular Vision: Ilona Sochynsky, Retrospective of Painting, a comprehensive exhibition of more than 50 paintings, including many large-scale works from all phases of the artist's development, will open to the public today. Curated by Jaroslaw Leshko, Professor Emeritus at Smith College, the exhibition will be on view through October 7.

Ilona Sochynsky’s painting career, entering its fourth decade, presents an oeuvre of visual beauty, intelligence, intensity and complexity. At its core, it is a profoundly personal journey of discovery. Her earliest paintings explore the imagery of Pop Art (she was especially drawn to the works of James Rosenquist) and Photorealism, a movement prominent in the 1970s. She responded to the latter’s hyperrealism and its subject matter of cars, motorcycles and street scenes, which she reinterpreted in her work to extraordinary effect.

Fetish in Black & White
2008, oil on canvas