Art of the Maidan

Since 2021 in the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity collection

On February 18, 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, a friend of my family, Ihor Serdyuk, was killed. Nothing could shock me more than the unfairness of Ihor's death.
I have never felt so frustrated and burned out. I could no longer remain silent and decided to paint.
I remember that day: Okean Elzy music playing in my room, a black canvas in front of me, flowing black paint, tears in my eyes, shaking hands, but a clear image of the artwork in my head. Without any sketch, I immediately started drawing not only with
a brush but also with my fingers on the canvas. I expressed my pain, words, and emotions in these artworks.

I have never painted in this style before. It was the true me. It was the first time I did not care about anything except my artwork.
These artworks will always bear a strong power and memory of Ukraine's real struggle. It will be a requiem for all innocent people who died in this fight for our justice and freedom.

My artworks "Do Not Cry, Dear" and "Our Strength Lies in Unity" took part in the project "Revolution of Dignity Art Exhibit: Images from Ukraine's Maidan, 2013-2014" curated

by Natalia Moussienko and Andriy Sydorenko. This project was presented as a traveling exhibition. The Fulbright Program, the Kennan Institute, and the Modern Art Research Institute of the National Art Academy of Ukraine supported the exhibit. The show was first displayed in Kyiv in September 2014 at the Fulbright Program Gallery. After its Kyiv debut, the exhibition started traveling around the US and Ukraine. In 2015, it was on display in the Ukrainian cities of Vinnytsia, Kamyanets-Podilsky, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kalush. And also, it was shown at the Wilson Center in Washington in 2015 and then moved to the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA. And in 2017, these artworks were presented at The Ukrainian Museum in New York.

On November 22, 2015, my artworks "Do Not Cry, Dear" and "Our Strength Lies in Unity" was published in the "Art of the Maidan" book by Natalia Moussienko. You can download the PDF file of the book.