Exhibition "In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine" Opens in the Belvedere, Vienna

On 23 February, the Belvedere, one of the most popular museums in the world, opens the exhibition "At the Epicentre of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine 1900-1930". This is the largest exhibition of Ukrainian art of the early 20th century in Austria. Since the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv was forced to suspend its exhibition activities due to the Russian war, the curatorial team was able to present a unique collection abroad. What is on display is great art that has long received little international attention.

Vienna is the third place in Europe to see the collection of Ukrainian modernism. The exhibition was first presented at the National Museum of Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid in autumn 2022, then exhibited at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium.

"In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine" presents 112 works by Ukrainian modernist artists, some of whom have been known worldwide as part of Russian modernism. 

Kazymyr Malevych, El Lysytskyi, Sonia Delaunay, Oleksandra Ekster, Anatol Petrytskyi, Oleksandr Bohomazov, Viktor Palmov, Vsevolod Maksymovych, Vasyl and Fedir Krychevskyi, Oleksandr Murashko and others - the project clearly demonstrates that Ukrainian modernism has always been a powerful part of global modernism. 

The exhibition includes works by artists from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Lviv.

The curatorial team is Katia Denysova, Maryna Drobotiuk and Olena Kashuba-Volvach, and the curatorial assistant is Myroslav Halyak. The exhibition in Vienna is initiated by the National Museum of Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid) and will last until 2 June.