7 Days in Kyiv

‘Art-Emigrants’ exhibition presenting “hyperrealism” artworks, created by Ukrainian artists that have lived outside Ukraine for a long time, opened at Modern Fine Arts Museum of Ukraine. The director of the museum Mykhaylo Shevchenko collected the legendary names: Serhiy Bazilev, Serhiy Geta and Serhiy Sherstyuk from Moscow, Eugen Gordiets from Pennsylvania, Evgeniy Prokopov from Chicago, Anton Skorubskiy from New York and Anton Solomukha from Paris. All of them, indeed, are classics. For example, Tretyakovska Gallery in Moscow dedicated one hall solely to three artists – Bazilev, Geta and Sherstyuk – who moved to Moscow and became the founders of the new style there. Solomukha earned fame for his name by consistently painting “entire Louvre.” Solomukha placed Parisian celebrities naked in compositions of famous historical pictures. In Paris he was nicknamed a “dirty classic.” “Art-Emigrants” exhibition consists of paintings, graphic artworks, photographs and sculptures.

Modern Fine Art Museum of Ukraine (14 Bratska, 463-7669). Open daily 10 a.m. till 7 p.m. Through Jan. 25

The “Swiss Design in Hollywood” exhibit offers visitors a look behind the scenes, and showcases the work and impact Swiss artists have made in design and digital imagery in international film productions, as well as in video games.

“Swiss Design in Hollywood” is a chance to look at the historical perspective of artistic techniques and practices which are often seen but given little thought. The exhibition shows extraordinary artistic works of several Swiss masters in the area of film design and computer graphics. The exhibition consists of 35 panels, which are divided up into thematic sections: poster, introduction, historical context, artists, techniques and digital Switzerland. Six panels present the historical context in relation to Switzerland: painting, illustration, fantasy films, animation, video games and the relationship between films and games. The central element of the exhibition presents the following artists and their work in film or video game production: H. R. Giger (“Alien”), John Howe (“The Lord of the Rings”), Christian Scheurer  (“Final Fantasy”), Deak Ferrand (“Hellboy”), Natasha Devaud (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Brigitte Wuest (“King-Kong”), Silvio Aebischer and Simon Christen (“Ratatouille”), Nadja Bonacina (“Over the Hedge”), Simon Otto (“Flushed Away”) and Alex Ongaro (“Bee-Movie”). Other panels present the techniques related to film design (matte painting, concept design, special effects and other techniques). Book illustrator John Howe, best known for his depictions of the fantastic worlds created by J. R. R. Tolkien, will be in Kyiv to open the exhibition on December 8. Howe was one of the lead artists for Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy.

Kinopalats (1 Instytutska, 490-7060). From Dec. 8 through Jan. 11

Bottega
22B Mikhaylivska, 279-5353
Mon.- Fri. 10 a.m. till 8 p.m.
Sat. –Sun. 11a.m. till 6 p.m.
“From Ukrainian stars – to Children with Down syndrome”: Photographs. Through Dec. 25

Sribni Dzvony
18/29 Mazepy, 254-3904
Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat noon till 4 p.m.
 “New Year’s Exhibition”: Paintings and herbal sculptures by Svetlana Kubrak. Through Jan. 15

Karas Gallery
22A Andriyvsky Uzviz
Daily except Sun. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
“Stamps”: Serigraphy and paintings by Alexander Druganov. Through Dec. 22

Triptych Gallery
34 Andriyvskiy  Uzviz, 279-8385
Tue – Sat 10 a.m. till 7 p.m., Mon – Sun 10 a.m. till 6 p.m.
“Kidnapping A.” Paintings by Oleg Yasenev. Through Dec. 24

Center for Contemporary Art at NaUKMА
2 Skovorody, 425-7778
Tue-Sun 1 p.m. till 6 p.m.
“And Soul, and Mind, and Body”: Sculptures by Elena Toryanska, Myroslav Mashlyanko (Poland). Through Dec. 21

Kiev Fine Art
12 Velyka Zhytomyrska, 279-3960, 278-1359
Daily except Mon. 1 p.m. till 7 p.m.
“Burnt Out Reality”: Paintings by Kiril Protsenko. Through Dec. 28

N’U Art
28/2 Hrushevskoho, 531-9556
Tue-Fri – 1 a.m. till 7 p.m. Sat-Sun – noon till 6 p.m.
Paintings by Valentina Tsvetkova. Through Jan. 1

Mystetsky Arsenal
28 Sichnevoho Povstannya, 254-5086
Daily except Mon. – 11 a.m. till 7 p.m.
“Unconscious Office Art”: Video installation, graphic arts, light-boxes by Anatoliy Sloyko. Through Dec. 25

Tsekh
16 Iliynska, 531-9904
“7”: Glass, ceramics, papier-mache by Beata Korn, Viktor Melnichuk, Ruslan Tremba. Through Feb. 1

Modern Fine Art Museum of Ukraine
14 Bratska, 463-7669
Daily 10 a.m. till 7 p.m.
“Art-Emigrants”:  Paintings by Serhiy Bazilev, Serhiy Geta, Serhiy Sherstyuk, Eugen Gordiets, Evgeniy Prokopov, Anton Skorubskiy, and Anton Solomukha. Through Jan. 25

Bruce Collection
55B Artema, 205-4266
Daily except Sun – 10 a.m. till 7 p.m., Sat – 10 a.m. till  6 p.m.
Exhibition of photographs by Helmut Newton, Howard Schatz, Sebastio Salgado, Steve, MC Curry, Flor Garduno etc. Through Jan. 25

Gudimov Art Project presents a new exhibition by Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Babak called “Stories.” “Stories can be seen only at a distance, I learned this idea from someone very clever,” Babak said. This expression became an epigraph to the whole series of art works combined in one project “Stories.” Babak’s Histories are little flashbacks, half-forgotten impressions, projects that never materialized, and cherished dreams. All of Babak’s works and especially the “Stories” are about senses and emotions, elusive faint notes, intonations and transitions that sometimes make you wonder if your previous understanding of things was right. As you look at his paintings, you may feel that his personality and yours begin to blend, and it somehow makes no sense to try and step aside to avoid it.

Ya Gallery (55/57 Voloska, 537-3351). From Dec. 17 through Jan. 12