PARIS, Nov 26 — Ukraine’s cultural heritage is also suffering the effects of Russia’s war against the country. Thousands of artworks and artifacts are exposed to a high risk of theft and illegal trafficking. The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid is working to combat this worrying situation with a new exhibition of works that have escaped the conflict.
“In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 — 1930s” includes 69 works on loan from several leading Ukrainian cultural institutions, such as the National Art Museum of Ukraine (Namu) and the State Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine. Most of them were transported out of Ukraine on November 15 in a secret convoy, hours before several Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, were hit by Russian strikes.
The operation was organised in record time, according to Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, the patron behind the rescue mission and the exhibition at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza.
“The convoy was 400 kilometres outside [Kyiv] when the worst of the bombing took place,” she said in a statement cited by Artnet News.
“As the convoy approached the border, crossing at Rava-Rus’ka, a stray missile accidentally fell near the Polish village Przewodow, near the border to Ukraine. Nato was on high alert and Poland went into emergency sessions.”
Usually, an exhibition such as “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 — 1930s” requires at least two years of planning, not a few weeks. But the seriousness of the threats facing this Ukrainian cultural heritage made it all the more urgent.
“It is becoming clearer day by day that Putin’s war against Ukraine is not only about occupying territory, but it is also about controlling the [Ukrainian] nation’s narrative,” said Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza.
The exhibition at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza combats this phenomenon by offering visitors an opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of modernism in Ukraine. It places this artistic movement in the context of the development of Ukrainian national culture and European art in the first half of the 20th century, through the creations of artists such as Oleksandr Bohomazov, Vasyl Yermilov, Viktor Palmov and Anatol Petrytskyi.
Visitors will be able to see “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s” from November 29, 2022, to April 30, 2023, at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.
The exhibition opening will be the occasion for Museums for Ukraine — an initiative launched by members of the art world to protect the cultural heritage of the country — to organise a symposium. The event will be attended by Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament, as well as commissioners and representatives of the European Commission.
After a stint at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the exhibition will move to the Museum Ludwig in Cologne from June 3 to September 24, 2023. — ETX Studio
