By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL (GOLDENHORN AGENCY) – The current trend in the art world is the effect the war on Ukraine is having on Ukrainian artists, international artists, art in Ukraine and contemporary art. Not only are Russian oligarchs who own millions worth of art being sanctioned but Russia’s role in bankrolling American institutions, art galleries and museums has recently come under fire in the press. Ukrainian artists are being recognized and their voices in protest of Russia’s war on Ukraine are reverberating throughout the art world, resulting in new opportunities for Ukrainian artists to produce their art in the West.
The current art world trend is the effect the war on Ukraine is having on international art exhibitions. Art’s ability to inspire the human spirit is how artistic endeavors perpetuate themselves. Though contemporary art in the 21st century is ubiquitous, it’s the artists who make bolder statements in unique mediums that capture our attention. A prime example is famed Russian-born, Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov who was forced to flee Kharkiv where he has lived for decades to Italy where his unique work, The Fountain of Exhaustion will exhibit.
War has traditionally been a time for looting art and Putin’s war on Ukraine has destroyed some significant artwork but at the same time, inspired the Ukrainian art world to band together to protect what precious art remains and to solicit assistance from abroad to further safeguard Ukraine’s vast collection of art. The entire art world in the 21st century is now being influenced and will pivot on the events in Ukraine. If anything, what the war on Ukraine has done is create an immensely rich awareness of this nation’s art and its unique culture. It has also reiterated an awareness of the devastating effects that war has on art and a nation’s culture.
If it is possible to be prepared for anything in life that something will always be change – exceedingly obvious in the art world now. The war on Ukraine orchestrated by Putin has created a whole new genre of art that speaks to global injustice and the question of a totalitarian society as well as the precariousness of oligarchy. An artist for the decades who personifies this message in his socially aware art is Jean-Michel Basquiat, who had he lived out his life into the 21st century, would most likely have struck a modern chord that resonates with millions of all ages around the globe who are protesting the war on Ukraine.
The change likely to trend in the art world for some time to come will be the question of how war affects those in it and those who witness it. An example of this is displayed in San Francisco where Ukrainian artists have created a new artwork to reflect just this sentiment at the entrance to a university building with a giant peace dove in the center. But an even more prolific example is Makov’s unique funnel sculpture that one of its curators describes as symbolic of “personal and global exhaustion.” Ukrainian artists are on the precipice of new opportunities and a chance for those fortunate ones to produce their art in the West. What purveyors of art, art collectors, curators, art dealers, art lovers and art investors must do is provide the much needed support to stand in solidarity not only with Ukrainian artists but with democracy and the freedom of expression that is so much a part of a democratic culture.
