Ukrainian-American artist Ola Rondiak will open the first leg of an ambitious new arts initiative on 21 November in Kyiv, before moving on to the WhiteBox in Harlem, New York, in late December. Entitled “Metempsychosis”, the exhibition features art in dialogue with Rondiak’s Ukrainian roots and contemporary Ukrainian realities. The Kyiv opening is timed to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the winter 2013 protests that led to the Revolution of Dignity.
Using a variety of mediums, Rondiak’s art offers audiences the chance to explore the essence of the Ukrainian experience over many centuries, reflecting the artist’s own voyage of self-discovery during the past two decades since she first emigrated from the US to her ancestral homeland.
While many of her art scene colleagues remain focused on ideas of modernity, Rondiak has developed a distinctive brand rooted in traditional Ukrainian folk art motifs with an eye for the tumultuous events shaping today’s Ukraine. Her often puzzling and intriguing visual materials are inseparable from her own direct experience, creating what some critics have called “art with an historical conscience.”
The “Metempsychosis” initiative will include an online panel discussion in early January 2020 featuring participants in both Kyiv and New York. At a time when ties between America and Ukraine are in the international spotlight, this dialogue promises to be a timely and original contribution to what is a rapidly evolving bilateral relationship.
“Metempsychosis” by Ola Rondiak
Maidan Museum (Trade Unions Building)
16 Khreshchatyk Street
Kyiv, Ukraine
From 21 November
WhiteBox
213 East 121st Street
New York, USA
From 19 December
Further information: www.whitebox.org