RMFA. In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1910-1930

he Modernist movement in Ukraine developed against a backdrop of collapsing empires, the First World War, the struggle for independence and the creation of Soviet Ukraine. Despite these profound upheavals, the first decades of the twentieth century saw bold artistic experimentations and a real flowering of art, literature and theatre in Ukraine.

Highlighting a range of artistic styles and diverse cultural identities, In the Eye of the Storm features over sixty works, most of which are on loan from the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) and the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine to safeguard them during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The exhibition brings together works by artists such as Kazymyr Malevych, Alexandra Exter and El Lissitzky, as well as by lesser-known figures, including Oleksandr Bohomazov, Sarah Shor and Mykhailo Boichuk, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the country's art and culture.

Organised by the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Ludwig Museum, Cologne, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, the Belvedere Museum, Vienna and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, with loans from the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) and the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine.

The touring exhibition In the Eye of the Storm would not be possible without the support of Museums for Ukraine, an initiative founded by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, to provide much-needed assistance to museums, curators, and artists in the war zone.

Curators: Konstantin Akinsha (freelance art historian and curator), Katia Denysova (art historian and doctoral candidate at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London), Olena Kashuba-Volvach (Curator of 19th and early 20th-Century Art, NAMU) & Francisca Vandepitte (Senior Curator of the Modern Art collection, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium).

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: MODERNISM IN UKRAINE, 1910-1930 

19 OCTOBER 2023 – 28 JANUARY 2024 

ROYAL MUSEUMS OF FINE ARTS | BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

On the cover: Alexandra Exter, Three Female Figures (detail) 
Oil on canvas, 1909-1910
National Art Museum of Ukraine, inv. Ж-1769

Source: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium