Historically misidentified as "Russian" artists, a June sale of Ukrainian works will help establish a national artistic identity
Donetsk coal miners in tutus and a blue alien sitting on a village grandma’s lap are Ukraine’s next hope for a nationalistic breakthrough. They are works of imagination by modern Ukrainian artists that are about to make history.
They will be sold at Sotheby’s in London on June 9, marking the first time a Ukrainian collection will be advertised as such and auctioned off to the highest bidders by the distinguished auction house.
In previous sales, Ukrainian works were sold under the heading of “Russian Modern Art.” Now, in a partial but substantial victory, the collection to be sold in June is billed as “Russian and Ukrainian Modern Art.”
However, the works still remain under the Russian wing, since Ukraine’s national art treasures remain lesser-known in the world. And, in fact, only 18 of the 100 works up for bids will come from Ukraine.
Still, the auction will be a place for national artists and the national art school to shine, rather than get misrepresented as Russian – as Ukraine’s artists have been for centuries.
Mixed heritage
Artists born and bred in Ukraine but educated in Russia have historically lived with a mixed identity. Often, they did not mind it, given the historical and political makeup. Painters such as Ivan Aivazovskiy and Illya Repin are known to the world as Russian, although they were born in Ukraine and made their homeland one of the central themes in their work.
Russian avant-gardist Kazimir Malevich, best-known for his painting of the Black Square, liked to say he was a Ukrainian painter during his lifetime, according to his biographers.
“We can’t separate cultures today,” said Ludmyla Bereznytska, associate professor at the National Academy of Art and Architecture. Bereznytska, who owns a gallery in Kyiv and Berlin, added: “Instead we must stress that Russia was a non-uniform country. For example, we can point out that Aivazovskiy’s and Repin’s works were more colorful and richer than Russian academic painting, but leave their identities aside.”
After many years of living abroad and attending international auctions, Bereznytska saw that Ukrainian modern art was unique and pitched it to Sotheby’s experts a few years ago. “They concluded it was more European than Russian because Russian art is more politicized and critical of social life. We are distinct in terms of ornamental and aesthetic tradition,” said Bereznytska, recalling her first presentation.
Going once, going twice
International critics said that Ukraine was a revelation to them. “We are horribly ignorant about Ukrainian art,” said Lord Mark Poltimore, head of Sotheby’s European department. He described its potential as “huge.”
Ukrainian masters to appear at Sotheby’s were born in the Soviet days. They broke into the artistic scene after the fall of the Soviet Union, reflecting liberation moods in their works
Illya Chichkan, a Kyiv socialite and artist, made a parody of the iconic symbol of Soviet power, a worker and a collective farm girl, by turning them into monkeys holding a hammer and sickle. Arsen Savadov brought up sexuality and religion in his paintings, both hushed up during communist rule.
Highlights of the auction, according to Sotheby’s, include an oil painting by Oleg Tistol that, at first glance, looks like an overexposed photograph of a palm tree in Yalta. A cute blue extra-terrestrial in the Ukrainian countryside came to life in Vassily Tsagolov’s Bunny. A painting by Alexander Gnilitsky with detailed raindrops will surely speak to weather-conscious British collectors.
A Cinderella story
For many of these artists, the Sotheby’s auction is as important as a ball is for Cinderella. Always in the shadow of a powerful relative, they are now allowed to attend on their own. And, like Cinderella, they are yet to make an impression and move on to the next stage, a separate auction and a separate catalogue.
Before that happens, Ukraine has to promote itself among its own people first, said Mikhail Kamenskiy, head of the Russia and CIS department at Sotheby’s. “[The Baltics and Poland] didn’t have 70 years of Soviet rule and have well-represented diasporas in the world that buy art. I can’t say that the Ukrainian diaspora is small, but for unknown reasons they are not interested in modern art,” said Kamenskiy, explaining why it is too early to hold a Ukrainian sale on its own. He added there was no politics in this decision.
The estimates for Ukrainian works reflect their junior status as well. In the range from $3,000 to $30,000, they are priced quite moderately compared to Russian offerings. Russia’s most expensive lot starts at $280,000.
Against all odds
One of the Ukrainian artists to exhibit in London in June, Oksana Mas, said money was less important compared to an opportunity presented. “Ukraine is known in the art world only because of Victor Pinchuk,” she said, referring to the Ukrainian tycoon and famous art patron.
Pinchuk sponsors Ukrainian artists at the Venice Biennale, one of the largest international fairs of modern art. He has also recently invited the most expensive modern artist Damien Hurst to exhibit in his art center in Kyiv, which revolutionized the perception of modern art in Kyiv.
Other than that, said Mas, Ukraine is a blank spot. “We have almost no teachers of contemporary art and every year we waste [talent] in our art schools.”
Like in most other segments of life in Ukraine, bureaucracy and over-taxation are also factors that stall the Ukrainian breakthrough. Any work of art destined for abroad can be claimed by the state as a “national treasure” and prevented from export. On top of that, the Ukrainians who want to bring their Sotheby’s purchases back home, have to pay an additional 20 percent value added tax.
“It’s a barbaric law,” said Natalia Zabolotna, head of the Ukrainian House, a major exhibition center in Kyiv. “If they [collectors] buy Aivazovskiy for 2 million pounds, they’d have to pay 400,000 on the border. That’s why our own Aivazovskiy will never make it to Ukraine,” she said. For comparison, in Russia, the European Union, and the United States, there are no import duties on art.
Despite all the hurdles, modern Ukrainian artists remain hopeful that contrary to history and bureaucracy, their home-grown beauty will conquer the world.
