On weapons of free people

The venue of the festival was the National Culture-Art and Museum Complex “Mystetsky Arsenal.” This year’s event has gathered over 40 projects: sculpture, painting, video, installations, photography, there was even a radio play. The organizers of the action note that didn’t set limits of topic; the only criterion was the quality of works. The expert of the 9th ART-KYIV Contemporary Oleksandr Soloviov says, “The selection was democratic, without any taboos, critical, ideological, or stylistic. It was a natural artistic selection.”

The headliner of the form was the famous Spanish artist Jose Maria Cano, who presented the project “Si cecidit de genu pugnat (Lat. If he falls down, he will continue to fight on his knees).” The project unites the pictures from the series “De Providentia (On Providence),” which was entitled after Seneca’s text. The works are executed in the technique of encaustics, i.e., wax painting. The plots of the pictures are a bullfight which embodies the struggle of a human being with the toreador fate. The artists think that Ukrainians are fighting for their destiny today in a similar way.

“At first the project in Kyiv was a usual exposition abroad for me,” Jose Maria CANO says, “But after the Maidan events this exhibit turned out to be the most expected one.” One of the works of the Spanish artist that were on display at the 9th ART-KYIV Contemporary is dedicated to Maidan: the picture Ukrainian Revolution shows the front page of the newspaper Financial Times with the center of Kyiv in clashes.

Another work by Jose Maria is over 60 kilograms of wax and a complicated intricate work. The Spanish artist says, “I melt the wax and work quickly, because the material hardens fast. The result is unusual because the wax is half-transparent and very organic, it is close by its color to human skin; wax combines glitter and opacity.”

The participants of the forum tried to unite in their works the glitter and darkness, calm beauty and protest. Among the foreign projects of the 9th ART-KYIV Contemporary was Bulgarian “Art of Protest,” photos and digital pictures from Sofia made in 2013-14 during the anti-governmental protests. Of course, there were photos from the Revolution of Dignity: 50 best photos from the project “Maidan: (R)evolution of spirit.”

The titans of modern Ukrainian art Anatolii Kryvolap and Oleh Tistol united their effort in the project “Landscape. Deep essence.” The exposition showed philosophical landscapes, which are impressive due to their rich colors.

At the festival there were many ironic works that aim to encourage the Ukrainians. In particular, team project “Warming up Ukraine.” In a joking manner the artists offer the ways to warm the houses, if there are problems with energy carriers. The versions are different: wood, small stoves, as if an energy battery of the future. One can simply throw a boiler into an enameled bath – this is the decision offered by artist Sirko. With the help of the project which is important in all senses, the artists wanted to show that the society is united and mobilized, and Ukrainians will be warmed up if not by radiators, then by humor and love to a close person.

“Don’t cry against the wind,” recommends artist Roman Minin in his eponymous work. The artist experiments in transmonumentalism, a kind of art that makes a person plunge into the state of meditation. For this Minin combines music, movement, and image. The artist explained, “In a state of trance a person will better understand the information the author wanted to convey. The wind of changes blowing in Ukraine is not bad or good, it is normal. You shouldn’t cry if this wind of change will tear off the hats or ruin something. This wind will bring something new, and everything will be fine.”

The art of the east of Ukraine was on display at the forum. The project “Different Donbas” by the team M’ART+1 united the works by eight artists from Horlivka and Mariupol. This is above all abstract painting. Art critic Marina Streltsova explained, “Often the hackneyed stereotypes about the east are brought to the surface: this is the land of miners, outcasts, and industrial landscapes. We want to say that in the Donbas there are artists who experiment with shape and color. We didn’t think through the concept, everything was spontaneous.”

The program of the festival included a discussion platform where a large bloc was dedicated to modern photography. Arsenal as well continued to unite art and charity. Four charity platforms operated during the 9th ART-KYIV Contemporary. So, Arsenal of Good Deeds specialized in the clothes for migrants in Kyiv, project “With warmth in heart” prepared a load with warm clothes for the servicemen in the ATO area, they gathered money for the drones and for migrants who live in the Donbas in the cities under Ukrainian control.

General Director of Mystetsky Arsenal Natalia ZABOLOTNA expressed her pride, “In this stormy year we have organized another large-scale event. Hopefully, beauty will save the world. I am happy that art is mobilizing artists, gallerists, society. The 9th ART-KYIV Contemporary forum is a light philosophical venue which stimulates reflection in many directions.”

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain Gerardo Angel Bugallo Ottone spoke of art as weapons. “Arsenal is a place where weapons are stored. The walls of Mystetsky Arsenal show what the Ukrainian people who has seized its own destiny by horns and started to change it. It is important that people all over the world understood this,” Spain’s Ambassador to Ukraine noted.