"A prayer to survive": how A corner of Mayfair is celebrating Ukraine's art
A mini feature about the Power of Grace exhibition at 54 The Gallery, London
Sometimes you are working on one story when another opens up to you.
That’s what happened to me last week, when I was chatting to a Ukrainian woman about an article I am researching, and who invited me to the opening night of an exhibition of Ukrainian artists, hosted in 54 The Gallery, in Shepherd’s Market.
Featuring work by 16 artists, and curated by Kateryna Kulishova, the exhibition represented a range of media and practice, from artists taking inspiration from folk art, to more abstract expressionism, art that explored the relationships between the artist and cultural figures such as David Bowie, fairy tales, myths, and the natural world.
Folk art and engaging with traditional Ukrainian culture was an important theme. The artist Iryna Dobrovetska, from Odessa, explores Ukrainian folk culture combined with mystic realism, prints of women in traditional dress alongside paintings with hidden easter eggs and folk motifs.
Part of the motivation for curating a space where artists can explore ideas about folk, tradition and heritage, explained Kulishova, is a way both to celebrate Ukrainian culture and integrate Ukrainian culture with Britain, but also a way to tackle Russian disinformation.
“Art is a heavy weapon,” Kulishova said. “It’s a weapon on a cultural level to show how unique our culture is. There is this propaganda that Ukraine is Russia, art makes it clear that we have our own culture”.
This is something I heard from artists in Kharkiv in September – that artists are making work that challenges the propaganda Russia spreads about Ukraine not being its own country with its own culture.
“Russia has a lot of experience with propaganda,” she continued. “Ukraine does not, we do not have the experience to brainwash. Culture is a tool to challenge propaganda, and we stand against that propaganda”.
Perhaps the most celebrated artist in the group show is Oksana Fursa. As well as her own practice, Fursa is a Doctor in Art History and two of her paintings have earned national heritage status and been acquired by Sofia Cathedral and Kievo-Pecherska Lavra museums. The assessment of these paintings was conducted by experts from Kyiv’s Taras Shevchenko National Museum.
Fursa is known for her folk art, with images of animals and plants created with ‘counterstroke’ techniques and combining painting with enamels, porcelain powder, hot glaze and paints of her own production. She also produces jewellery, clothing, silk accessories, exclusive Christmas tree ornaments, book illustrations, and furniture designs.
Interestingly, one subject that was absent was Russia’s full-scale invasion, a decision that Kulishova explained to me.
“In the war, life is difficult,” she said. “People need something light, they need to be happy. These works show joy and tenderness and beauty. People need hope and safety”.
Safety is a key theme in at least three of the paintings, one blue and yellow painting of a figure holding a fox is called ‘Safety’ and made in 2020, but its theme is eerily prescient of the conflict to come.
‘Safety’ is the work of Alina Kostrichenko whose practice engages with Greek mythology. I’m told that her current work is engaging more directly with the big war, but the paintings shown at 54 are “more joyous”. Another painting, this time by Anna Nesterenko, is of a child outside a cottage, titled “A journey to the inner child”, which explores ideas of home, childhood, and both physical and psychological safety. It’s one of my favourites, as is an abstract figure that appears to be an embrace.
“I have materials from artists who are on the frontline,” said Kulishova. “I will show it one day to show the suffering of people in very difficult situations. One artist described the paintings he has made in the war as his ‘prayer to survive’. Art can be like therapy, especially for those who have been living under occupation. But here, I wanted to make a space full of optimism and hope”.
Working alongside Kulishova is Nataliia Horbenko, the Lead of the Arts Support Programme in London and an advocate of what she calls “cultural diplomacy”.
“I hail from Poltava region in Ukraine and involved in the realm of international logistics and road transportation since 2010. Beyond the world of logistics, my passion lies in promoting and sharing the richness of Ukrainian culture with the world,” she said, explaining her background. “I've embarked on an inspiring cultural project that aims to showcase the essence of Ukraine through its exquisite embroidered clothes and support talented Ukrainian artists in presenting our country's artistic heritage on the global stage”.
Horbenko sees the initiative as creating a bridge between Ukraine and London, offering Londoners and Brits more widely the chance to “immerse themselves in Ukrainian art”.
“We showcase the beauty of Ukraine,” she said, guiding me through the gallery and its celebrations of landscapes, flowers, nature, symbols of love, music, and childhood, and figurative portraits. The room feels like it is blossoming with beauty and with that comes a sense of peace. “Creative people are interested in peace,” she explained. “Artists need to feel hope”.
Horbenko sees her work as part of the war effort. “Psychologically for me it was like a torment,” she said. “Because I am here in the UK, and I want to protect my country. I can’t take a weapon in my hand, but I can help create trade and support Ukrainian artists”.
20% of all sales from the gallery are donated to the Voznytskyy Foundation, a charity that supplies Ukraine with medical equipment. While my budget can’t stretch to the paintings, I do purchase a tote bag featuring Iryna Dobrovetska’s print of a woman in blue traditional costume.
The fact that the sales are helping both Ukrainian artists to develop their work, and providing medical aid to a country enduring the horrors of Russian aggression, is a reminder that – while the space is blooming with optimism and hope – the war continues and the need to support Ukraine is more urgent than ever.
“We still have a war and we still need support,” insisted Kulishova. “If Ukraine does not win, no one wins”.
It’s a statement of fact that has been made to me many times by Ukrainians – from artists and civilians, to local government officials: that if Ukraine loses this war, then all of Europe is threatened. It is one reiterated by Horbenko. “We are the frontline for European values against non-European values,” she said.
Obligatory book plug
I had some good news this week about my book and its sales… but I would love to sell some more so please do keep buying it :) It’s on special offer!
Soon I will be working on an update for the paperback and sadly, all I have to say is how things are just so much worse than when I started writing it.
What I loved
Three for you this week – the first is this devastating long-read asking if abortion bans killed Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick. The answer is “yes”, but it is also a story about poverty, a broken healthcare system, and racist migration policies. It’s written by Stephania Taladrid.
Second is this article by Paul Mason about why the West has 10 months to save Ukraine, with a heart-stopping intro about miners trapped underground after Russian shelling. I’ve been watching with horror and heartbreak the continued accelerated attacks on Ukraine this month, including Kharkiv, where another hotel was targeted this week.
Third, and staying with Ukraine, is Luke Harding’s report about how one man escaped the Azovstal steelworks.
What I’m writing
Just as discovering the exhibition came when I was researching another story, so did my article for this week. I was looking at spends of US anti-abortion groups internationally and realised that one of the leading abortion disinformation merchants had increased its spend in Ukraine by 1500% since the start of the full-scale invasion. For the i paper.
What I’m reading
Sticking with Luke Harding, I am reading his Shadow State which is GREAT and kind of a reminder of the chaos of the last eight years, and a sad predictor of how we are where we are. I combined it with A Spy Alone by Charles Beaumont, which sometimes melded fact and fiction in my mind – there are some very “if you know, you know” moments in that novel for sure.
Also still reading Gogol’s Dead Souls.
What I’m watching
There are so many good films on iPlayer right now. I re-watched West Side Story and oh my god I cried so much. Proper ugly crying at Somewhere, I don’t know, that song hits hard.
Yesterday I had a double bill of The Lady Vanishes and Bonnie and Clyde, and just to objectify for a moment but my god, Warren Beatty was a beauty wasn’t he? You could just gaze and gaze.
Last week a friend asked me if I had ever watched Dr Zhivago and I had, but a long time ago and I wasn’t keen on it. Turned out it was worth re-watching, because this time I really enjoyed it.
That’s it for this week. Next week I am going to be making a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. I think. I hope! Watch this space!
Ciao ciao