Oleksandr Soloviov, a curator: "It is significant for Ukraine that there will be another one cultural centre, full of art events"

04

November

2017

Oleksandr Soloviov is one of the most influential curators in contemporary Ukrainian art. He is among those who create the main art projects of the country. His professional achievements include six years as a curator at the PinchukArtCentre, the chief curator of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, the organization of the first Kyiv Biennale of Contemporary Art, large-scale FineArtUkraine and Art-KyivContemporary exhibitions, hundreds of personal and collective expositions of artists, the Great Sculpture and Antique Salons, etc. This autumn Oleksandr Soloviov as a member of the Jury arrived in Uzhhorod for the 3rd Student Contest in Painting "Silver Easel". And, despite his tight schedule, he willingly agreed to the detailed conversation.

Mr. Oleksandr, what are your impressions of the contest in general and of the works in particular?

I was a jury member for the first time, although I knew that this contest was held for the third time. It has a good reputation, resonance and composes good, interesting catalogues of the contest's works. I note that all institutions outside the capital attract attention and great interest. Moreover, this is a professional contest, in which students of specialized art higher educational establishments take part. This year, the "Improvisation" nomination was added to the two nominations of more academic plan "Cityscape" and "Portrait". And with the first look at the works, the impressions were pleasant. It's interesting when young artists are going to participate in the contest and at the same time each with his own style. The contest is a very good initiative, as it stimulates creative life in the country. And, it is good that it takes place in Uzhhorod, where there are good art traditions, where there are numerous talented contemporary artists represented both on the art scene of Ukraine and abroad.

Is it important that the national contest has become open, not limited to the borders of Ukraine?

Surely! There is such a thing – "doctors without borders", thus art, moreover, is without limits, it is universal. The language of art is clear to everybody, culture and art serve as a convergence of different mentality, worldviews, and traditions.

How relevant are the competitive tasks, or might you have a suggestion for other categories?

Of course, the choice of nominations can be changed or supplemented, as it happened this year. Contemporary art is no longer associated with craft, it is a more philosophical category that concerns all possible visual practices. That is, not only that which is done by hands, not only easel painting, and this is the latest technology, video, photography, and the like. But in order to understand all these in-depth processes, to become a true artist, you need to go through a good academic school, and then you can revolutionize. On the example of the famous artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali it can be illustrated that they also had an excellent academic background, painted portraits, landscapes in an academic style, and later, abstracting from nature, came to the foundation of separate currents. The twentieth century was marked by this. Then came the era of postmodernism. And, accordingly, returning to the contest, I will note that this art event combines the moment of school demonstration and the flight of fantasy. Therefore, the most interesting thing is the fact that contestants perform the task of "Improvisation".

Oleksandr Soloviov during the evaluation of works of “Silver Easel” III contestants

If we compare "Silver Easel" with similar contests held abroad, then what is our level and what direction shall we move forward?

Contests of such a kind are held indeed. I know contests of other formats. What is good about this contest is that everything happens here and now, in an instant. All contestants work on equal terms, in the same time frame. This is a kind of "flash mob" residency. There are contests organized by other private galleries and centres, which are selected works of young artists and organize an exhibition of these works. For example, Mystetskyi Arsenal also selected the works of young artists were on a competitive basis. These works were presented to the selection committee as sketches, and upon the fact of election, the works were performed by the winners of the contest in different genres and styles, including video, installations, and were submitted to exposition.

This contest ("Silver Easel." - Auth.) is clearly focused on painting. With the modern variety of art tools, the widening of the range of possibilities and visualization technologies, painting continues to be the eternal theme. Painting cannot be fooled, this is the moment of truth. Painting was, is and will be. This is a unique, non-circular art. And in the art market paintings will set a tone for a long time. The simpler it will be to create an image, for example, with the help of selfie, the more difficult will be the opposite desire to create an image with your own hands. Each type of creating an image in its own way is good.

Oleksandr Soloviov during the awarding of the winners of “Silver Easel” III

Is it possible to state that the founders of the contest make a definite breakthrough in supporting Ukrainian contemporary art?     

Certainly! We got acquainted with the projects of the Brovdi family, and we already see great potential. This is true not only for the student contest but also for the opening of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Uzhhorod, where the Transcarpathian school, Ukrainian and foreign artists will be represented in separate directions. This case is extremely important and deserves comprehensive approval. We talk a lot about decentralization, including cultural, but these are just words. But such cases can fill this process with real content. If we take for example the experience of other countries, French or German culture, then some of these countries’ cities, comparable to Uzhhorod in terms of population, conduct art events that become brands of the whole countries: theatre festival in Avignon, the Biennale, carnivals, film festivals in Venice, and others.

Have you seen the artists with the potential among the contestants, who would you like to continue co-operation with?

In one of my recent projects organized in the Lviv Potocki Palace, there were represented a lot of contemporary artists from western Ukraine, including an artist from Uzhhorod Oleksa Mann. I am sure that among the contestants there will also be talented artists who will later take part in my projects.

In what direction is Ukrainian contemporary art moving today?

It definitely moves, being in a transit state. First of all, it is multi-faceted, I cannot isolate a single vector of development. If you make a cut, you can see that simultaneously on stage there are different generations of artists who profess different aesthetic world outlook, choosing sometimes radically different ways. This "fluffy" mixture is extremely interesting. On the one hand, the well-known Ukrainian artists Pavlo Kerestei, Oleh Tistol, Anatolii Kryvolap are representatives of the mature generation of artists, with these first names were connected with the first steps of the formation of Ukrainian contemporary art. There are several well-known Ukrainian artists who at one time admired photography, video, but then returned to painting again. Although this generation of artists was born on the social break, when a huge country left in non-existence, the next generation of artists emerged after the first Maidan. And in the period between the two Maidans, the prevailing were creative unions, such as "Revolutionary Experimental Space", Kharkiv groups and others. A very interesting group was created, among other things, by Uzhhorod and Lviv artists, which is also called "Open Group", the members of which are Pavlo Kovach (junior), Yurii Bieliei, who work in a conceptual direction. And in the middle of the nineties Pavlo Kovach (senior) and a group of other artists, such as Robert Saller, Vadym Kharabaruk, were in an interesting pop-art search called "pop-trance". Therefore, all this allows us to state that there is no mainstream in the development of Ukrainian contemporary art, but there is a certain mosaic…

And finally, how do you think, what do such contests as the "Silver Easel" give young artists?...  

When we talk about this contest ("Silver Easel" - Auth.) and others that take place in Kyiv, we realize that with their help new authors are being identified, they are slowly moving away from what their predecessors did, moving away from the conjecture and direct political statements, they get back to the artwork. Undoubtedly, for young artists, the contest gives an opportunity to be creative and professionally harden in competition in the art field.

... and Ukraine in general?

It is significant for Ukraine that there will be another one cultural centre, full of art events.