Ivan Marchuk
Every year on the second Sunday of October, Artist's Day is celebrated in Ukraine. In 2024, this holiday falls on October 13. On the occasion of the event, Radio Maxim decided to prepare a selection of the most famous modern Ukrainian artists.
People who are engaged in visual arts feel the subtle, undisturbed beauty of the world, which is hidden from more down-to-earth people. Thanks to artists, society gets a unique opportunity to contemplate many things, at first glance, hidden.
High-level artists “revive” entire cities, proving to us that every living and non-living creature on the planet has a character and a soul.
Modern Ukrainian artists:
1. Vlada Ralko
One of the most famous Ukrainian artists working in the genre of expressionism. In 2019, she became a laureate of the UN Women in Art Award. Most of Vlada Ralko's works, in one way or another, are related to the human body and describe what happens to it and in it.
One of the important works in the artist's work is “Kyiv diary”. This series of drawings appeared after the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2014. Uncertainty, variability and rapidity of events affected the format of the works. Small paintings became a way for the artist to instantly react to the reality of the time.
Vlada Ralko
2. Oleg Tistol
Oleg Tistol is one of the most popular Ukrainian artists who represented the country at the Sao Paulo Art Biennale in 1994 and the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001. His paintings are known and appreciated all over the world. A distinctive feature of Oleg Tistol's work is the artistic reinterpretation of various clichés and stereotypes through experiments.
One of them was made in collaboration with designer Anastasia Ivanova in 2013, when visitors to the 31st Ukrainian Fashion Week took part in coloring the work “Coloring book”, creating an interactive work of art.
Oleg Tistol
3. Ivan Marchuk
This Ukrainian artist, a genuine talent of Ukrainian contemporary art, was included in the list of 100 best living geniuses compiled by The Daily Telegraph (being the only Ukrainian in it). The artist's work includes about 5,000 paintings, many of which are exhibited abroad.
He calls his technique plentaism, derived from the Ukrainian dialect of the word plentaty (to weave). Ivan Marchuk's incredible works consist of multi-layered, intertwining lines that merge into one color from afar.
Ivan Marchuk
4. Viktor Sydorenko
One of the leaders of modern Ukrainian art. He is engaged in painting, photography, installation and sculpture. The artist created his early works in the style of realism, and later moved to postmodernism and neo-avant-garde. His project “The Mill of Time” represented Ukraine at the 50th Venice Biennale.
The main theme of his work is man and his identification in the modern digital world. “Year Zero. The Idea of Light” is one of Viktor's latest projects. The main character of the works not only demonstrates his evolution over the past 26 years, but also reflects the transformation of society, its adaptation to new realities.
Viktor Sydorenko
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One of the most successful young Ukrainian artists. He works in the direction of modern sculpture, creates objects in public space. In his works, the author tries to depict the interaction of man with the environment.
Perhaps his most famous work is the 6-meter-high sculpture “Rain”, which is located in Kyiv on Pejazhnaya Alley and symbolizes the “the connection between man and nature.
Nazar Bilyk
6. Anatoly Kryvolap
Anatoliy Kryvolap is considered the most successful contemporary artist of Ukraine. He is the most talked about today. It is the most expensive among representatives of modern Ukrainian art on the international art market.
In October 2013, the work “Horse. “Evening” was sold for $186,000. No other artist has been able to surpass the record amount.
Anatoliy Kryvolap
7. Ilya Chichkan
Ilya Chichkan is a bright representative of the new wave of Ukrainian art. His works are often exhibited in Ukrainian galleries. His works are highly valued in Europe. One of his paintings “It” was sold in 2007 for $70,000.
Most often the author uses images of monkeys in his works, his painting “Charlie” was sold for $20,500. In 2009, Chichkan participated at the Venice Biennale, representing the Ukrainian pavilion.
Ilya Chichkan
8. Oksana Mas
Oksana Mas is one of the few Ukrainian artists whose paintings are presented in the most famous galleries in the world. Critics call the artist a Ukrainian brand, and her works are considered to be ahead of time.
The artist represented Ukraine at the 54th Venice Biennale with a project that later became part of the large-scale art installation “Altar of Nations”. The wooden egg mosaic is a reproduction of the masterpiece Ghent Renaissance Altarpiece. At Sotheby's auction in 2009, her work “DRIVE 9” bought for $55, 2,000. On the Ukrainian market, Oksana Mas's paintings cost from $20,000. alt=”Let's study Ukrainian culture: a selection of the most famous modern Ukrainian artists” />
Oksana Mas
9. Maxim Mamsikov
He started with miniature black and white landscapes. After several experimental series, such as “Color test” (on each canvas – strokes enlarged to absurd sizes), the artist found a style for which he will probably be called a legend of the 2000s-2010s (as his father Vladyslav Mamsikov is called a legend of the “strict style” of the 1960s -х).
Maxim Mamsikov participated in more than 30 group projects in Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Germany, Norway, France, Great Britain and the USA. Since 2009, the artist's works have been sold at auctions such as Sotheby's, Phillips de Pury, Vladey and Macdougall's. And the painting “Sea Battle” went under the hammer for $35,000.
Maksym Mamsikov
10. Zhanna Kadyrova
Ukrainian artist and sculptor. She creates objects, installations, mosaics and sculptures. The raw material with which the artist works emphasizes the nature of her works. For a long time, the favorite materials for creating objects were precious stones and tiles.
One of Zhanna Kadyrova's projects called “Market” consisted exclusively of ceramic vegetables and fruits, which visitors could purchase at the following rate: one gram was equal to one dollar. Already during the war, Zhanna Kadyrova created a series of works called “Palyanytsia”. All objects were made of river stones.
Zhanna Kadyrova