Group Exhibition of Ukrainian Contemporary Artists “Looking into the Gaps Ⅲ”
Upcoming
Friday6 February - Thursday19 March 2026
This exhibition presents works by leading contemporary Ukrainian artists, curated by Nikita Kadan—one of Ukraine’s most prominent artists as well as an active curator. It constitutes the third chapter of an ongoing exhibition series that began in Poland in 2024 and continued in Germany in 2025, a project that seeks to confront ruptures in linear history and reconnect Ukrainian art through shared experiences. Following a non-public outdoor presentation on Teshima Island, Kagawa, in August 2025, the series will be showcased at Art Front Gallery.
Since February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation launched its military invasion of Ukraine, the country has remained in a state of war. Many Ukrainian citizens have volunteered as soldiers, and some artists have taken up positions on the frontlines, losing their lives. Despite the extreme difficulty of sustaining cultural activities under such circumstances, artists continue to face reality through their practices and to assert their voices.
This exhibition introduces the current landscape of Ukrainian contemporary art shaped by these harsh conditions, as seen through Kadan’s perspective. By presenting works by artists he deeply trusts, the exhibition aims to create a space that conveys the memories, pain, and enduring hope of the Ukrainian people.
Since February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation launched its military invasion of Ukraine, the country has remained in a state of war. Many Ukrainian citizens have volunteered as soldiers, and some artists have taken up positions on the frontlines, losing their lives. Despite the extreme difficulty of sustaining cultural activities under such circumstances, artists continue to face reality through their practices and to assert their voices.
This exhibition introduces the current landscape of Ukrainian contemporary art shaped by these harsh conditions, as seen through Kadan’s perspective. By presenting works by artists he deeply trusts, the exhibition aims to create a space that conveys the memories, pain, and enduring hope of the Ukrainian people.
| Open hours | Wed ~ Sun, Public holidays 11AM ~ 5PM |
| Closed days | Mon and Tue |
| Event 1 | 【Video Work Screening】 February 6, 2026 (Fri.), 18:30- Screening of "The Gray Earth" by Dana Kavelina *Please register using the link below. https://forms.gle/V3qH3sbrz6eke5J18 Co-organized by Waseda University |
| Event 2 | 【Talk Event】 February 6, 2026 (Fri.), Nikita Kadan (Artist, Curator)×Dana Kavelina (Artist)×Fram Kitagawa (Chairman of Art Front Gallery) *Languages: Japanese and Ukrainian (consecutive interpretation into Japanese) *Please register using the link below. https://forms.gle/V3qH3sbrz6eke5J18 Co-organized by Waseda University |
Curator's comment
Nikita KadanArtist, curator
‘We generally didn't like to look into the distance. Rather, to the side, into the gap. Like the perspective of pretty streets that always diverge perpendicularly. We didn't interpret, we didn't even ‘practice’, we just wandered around.’
— Yuri Leiderman, “Those Who Wandered in the Surf”
The history of Ukrainian art is a torn history and, at the same time, a history of gaps. Interrupted narratives, destroyed works, repressed authors, loud silence, rewriting the past according to the new dominant ideology, tragedies of conformism and virtuosity of self-justification, breaking oneself over the knee, changing sides in the middle of an argument, changing names halfway through, dissociative identity. Or martyrdom through self-immolation, followed by turning the ashes into bronze. And bronze is known to steal the meaning from ashes every time.
Is it possible to wander the landscape of catastrophe? Are there flankers in the bloody lands? The answer to this exhibition is affirmative.
The dignity of living on the periphery, without an eager gaze directed to the centre, to the metropolis. The lack of any certainty about one's own historical prospects. Leiderman speaks of ‘Ukrainian horizontal kinship, non-hierarchical ties’ and ‘a number of cultural provinces - Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv - that do not need a centre, they just stand side by side’. Art in the provinces can be ‘elusive Joe’ while in the metropolis it turns into career springboards or monumental columns and towers of ‘big culture’.
But the province is also the cradle of madness. Ideas that in more central places could turn into unshakable pedestals for their creators here become the clamorous garb of a urban madmen. Something like Tetianych's spacesuits made of garbage and foil.
Let's imagine a museum, one of the Ukrainian museums, where a seemingly chaotic collection of artworks turns into a clear history of gaps of the logics that could otherwise unite and historicise these works. Where the lack of connection between historical situations makes the present fluid, unreliable and extremely open.
What to do when your native periphery suddenly becomes a place where the fate of the world is decided? And an even more complicated question: what if it suddenly ceases to be this place?
This exhibition is about the ways of looking at art, determined by the terrific and funny circumstances of Ukrainian life. This exhibition can be read as a project of a museum in which the desire to claim power through writing history has already failed. Or as an unstable system in which “classical," “contemporary," “marginal," "popular" authors find themselves outside their usual niches and positions in the classification. Like a moving landscape of art that instantly makes any map obsolete. Or as a story about the stolen past, recreated by its shadows and echoes - with full readiness for these shadows and echoes to deceive you and lead you astray.
— Yuri Leiderman, “Those Who Wandered in the Surf”
The history of Ukrainian art is a torn history and, at the same time, a history of gaps. Interrupted narratives, destroyed works, repressed authors, loud silence, rewriting the past according to the new dominant ideology, tragedies of conformism and virtuosity of self-justification, breaking oneself over the knee, changing sides in the middle of an argument, changing names halfway through, dissociative identity. Or martyrdom through self-immolation, followed by turning the ashes into bronze. And bronze is known to steal the meaning from ashes every time.
Is it possible to wander the landscape of catastrophe? Are there flankers in the bloody lands? The answer to this exhibition is affirmative.
The dignity of living on the periphery, without an eager gaze directed to the centre, to the metropolis. The lack of any certainty about one's own historical prospects. Leiderman speaks of ‘Ukrainian horizontal kinship, non-hierarchical ties’ and ‘a number of cultural provinces - Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv - that do not need a centre, they just stand side by side’. Art in the provinces can be ‘elusive Joe’ while in the metropolis it turns into career springboards or monumental columns and towers of ‘big culture’.
But the province is also the cradle of madness. Ideas that in more central places could turn into unshakable pedestals for their creators here become the clamorous garb of a urban madmen. Something like Tetianych's spacesuits made of garbage and foil.
Let's imagine a museum, one of the Ukrainian museums, where a seemingly chaotic collection of artworks turns into a clear history of gaps of the logics that could otherwise unite and historicise these works. Where the lack of connection between historical situations makes the present fluid, unreliable and extremely open.
What to do when your native periphery suddenly becomes a place where the fate of the world is decided? And an even more complicated question: what if it suddenly ceases to be this place?
This exhibition is about the ways of looking at art, determined by the terrific and funny circumstances of Ukrainian life. This exhibition can be read as a project of a museum in which the desire to claim power through writing history has already failed. Or as an unstable system in which “classical," “contemporary," “marginal," "popular" authors find themselves outside their usual niches and positions in the classification. Like a moving landscape of art that instantly makes any map obsolete. Or as a story about the stolen past, recreated by its shadows and echoes - with full readiness for these shadows and echoes to deceive you and lead you astray.
Featured Artists
Nikita Kadan
Nikita Kadan, a leading figure in contemporary Ukrainian art, graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv in 2007. Working across various media including painting and installation, he has received numerous awards such as from the PinchukArtCentre, and has presented his works at major international exhibitions including the Istanbul Biennial and the Venice Biennale in 2015, as well as the Busan Biennale in 2018.
For Kadan, history and art history serve as essential sources of creation and reflection. In 1991, when he was eight years old, the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine gained independence; however, how to confront and engage with the history and memory of the Soviet era remains an ongoing challenge for the artist. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, war has also become a central theme of his practice. Kadan transforms the raw realities of conflict into works of quiet intensity, at times employing symbolic approaches to distill and elevate the experience of war.
For Kadan, history and art history serve as essential sources of creation and reflection. In 1991, when he was eight years old, the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine gained independence; however, how to confront and engage with the history and memory of the Soviet era remains an ongoing challenge for the artist. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, war has also become a central theme of his practice. Kadan transforms the raw realities of conflict into works of quiet intensity, at times employing symbolic approaches to distill and elevate the experience of war.
Anton Saenko
Born in 1989 in Sumy, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine), he graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv. He works across a wide range of media, including painting, land art, performance, and installation. In his artistic practice, “space” is treated as an important and recurring theme.
Bohdan Sokur
Born in 1994 in Cherkasy, Ukraine. He graduated from the Dragomanov National Pedagogical University in 2017. Through paintings and video works depicting everyday scenes of post-socialist countries, he reconstructs spaces of personal memory. He is currently serving in one of the attack and defense units of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Dana Kavelina
Born in 1995 in Melitopol, Ukraine. Graduated from Kyiv Polytechnic University. She works primarily with animation and video, while also employing installation, painting, and graphic techniques. Her practice examines military violence and war from the perspective of the victim, exploring the dissonance between history and individual trauma and memory.
She has participated in The Kyiv Perennial (Vienna), the 60th Venice Biennale, and other international exhibitions. She is also the recipient of the 7th PinchukArtCentre Prize.
She has participated in The Kyiv Perennial (Vienna), the 60th Venice Biennale, and other international exhibitions. She is also the recipient of the 7th PinchukArtCentre Prize.
Ilia Todurkin
Born in 2000 in Mariupol, Ukraine. He is known for his use of diverse and innovative materials and techniques, creating works across a wide range of media including drawing, painting, and monotype prints. His artistic expression has been profoundly shaped by the harsh experiences he has faced since childhood, including illness, multiple surgeries, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Igor Makedon
A photographer born in Kyiv. After graduating from the National University of Kyiv, he studied at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. While primarily working with portraiture that explores issues of gender, sexuality, and identity, he has also presented drawings and objects at venues including the Khanenko Museum and The Naked Room (Kyiv).
Marta Syrko
Born in 1995 in Lviv, Ukraine. Her practice explores the intersections of art history, social issues, and the human body. Through portrait photography and related media, she reexamines contemporary notions of identity and bodily representation, challenging conventional ideas of beauty and perfection through depictions of imperfect bodies, and foregrounding human diversity and complexity.
Oleh Perkovsky
Born in 1984 in Kamianets-Podilskyi, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine). He works with video, graphics, painting, and installation, and is one of the founding members of ”Open Group," which curated the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale. His practice explores themes such as nature, architecture, time, and the notions of presence and absence.
Oleksiy Say
Born in 1975 in Kyiv, Ukraine. He graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv in 2001. Working across a wide range of media, he is widely known for his self-developed practice of “Excel art.” In addition to this, he produces installations, art objects, digital art, and graphic works.
Pavlo Kovach
Born in 1987 in Uzhhorod, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine). He graduated from Uzhhorod Art College and the Lviv National Academy of Arts. Since 2012, he has been a co-founder and member of "Open Group," and has participated in the 56th and 60th Venice Biennale, the 8th Yokohama Triennale, among others.
Vladislav Plisetsky
Born in 1999 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Based at the Kyiv art center “Kyiv club Otel,” he works across a wide range of genres, presenting performances and solo exhibitions in urban spaces. His practice spans various media, including video, performance, costume design, and styling.
Yuri Leiderman
Born in 1963 in Odesa, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine). Artist and writer. He graduated from the D. Mendeleev Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology. From 1982, he participated in apartment exhibitions in Moscow and Odesa as an unofficial artist. In 1987, he became one of the founding members of the Moscow-based artist group ”Medical Hermeneutics", which he left in 1990.
He has participated in the Venice Biennale (1993, 2003), the 1st Manifesta (1996), the Istanbul Biennial (1992), among others. In 2005, he received the Andrei Bely Prize for Literature. Since 2005, he has collaborated with Andrei Silvestrov on the film project "Birmingham Ornament." "Birmingham Ornament II" (2013), which received the Jury Special Award in the “Cinema of the 21st Century” section at the Rome Film Festival, was also screened at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2024).
He is currently based in Berlin.
To be added sequentially
He has participated in the Venice Biennale (1993, 2003), the 1st Manifesta (1996), the Istanbul Biennial (1992), among others. In 2005, he received the Andrei Bely Prize for Literature. Since 2005, he has collaborated with Andrei Silvestrov on the film project "Birmingham Ornament." "Birmingham Ornament II" (2013), which received the Jury Special Award in the “Cinema of the 21st Century” section at the Rome Film Festival, was also screened at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2024).
He is currently based in Berlin.
To be added sequentially