In early November 2022, shortly before the liberation of Kherson from russian occupation, the invaders looted the artworks of the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Regional Art Museum. Of the nearly 14,000 works that comprised the collection before the full-scale invasion, over 11,000 of the most valuable exhibits were stolen. The project “KHERSON: UN/STOLEN. Studies and Homages” draws attention to the museum’s lost collection. It is our gesture of support for the people of Kherson who remain in the city under constant shelling.
A study is a research piece and an étude. A homage is a work of gratitude to an artist. These are not exact copies or mere replicas, but rather a tribute and an expression of thanks to those who previously made this world a better place. Thus, we named the project “KHERSON: UN/STOLEN. Studies and Homages” and dedicated it to the art objects stolen by the russians.
Have you ever been to Kherson but never visited the Kherson Art Museum? Are you unfamiliar with the masterpieces held there? Through this project, we want to demonstrate that contemporary artists know, remember, and honor those whose works were displayed in this museum before the russian occupation. Artists from various cities across Ukraine supported this project by creating studies and homages to the stolen works.
We do not know when the Kherson Art Museum will reopen its doors. However, when it does, visitors will be able to see contemporary works that are certainly no less significant than those stolen—which we hope Ukraine will recover after our Victory.
We honor and support the city of Kherson.
Curators: Olena Balaba, Oleksii Baula, Anton Lohov
Project Coordinator: Roza Tapanova
Artists:
- Matvii Vaisberh (Kyiv)
- Oleksandr Zhyvotkov (Kyiv)
- Akhra Adzhyndzhal (Kyiv)
- Hanna Hidora (Kyiv)
- Vladyslav Shereshevskyi (Kyiv)
- Andrii Levytskyi (Kyiv)
- Polina Kuznetsova (Kharkiv – Kyiv)
- Oleksii Beliusenko (Kyiv)
- Ihor Bozhko (Odesa)
- Serhii Bozhko (Odesa)
- Oleksa Mann (Kyiv – Uzhhorod)
- Yaryna Kobylinska (Odesa)
- Oleksandr Shcherban (Kyiv)
- Volodymyr Trush (Kyiv)
- Hanna Kryvolap (Kyiv)
- Denys Nedoluzhenko (Odesa – Kharkiv)
- Katia Lisova (Kyiv)
- Tania Antoniuk (Kyiv)
- Mykola Solohub (Kyiv)
- Volodymyr Semkiv (Lviv)
- Oksana Tsiupa (Kyiv – Irpin)
- Vsevolod Sharko (Kyiv – Dnipro)
- Ilona Kuznetsova (Kyiv – Dnipro)
- Anton Lohov (Kyiv)
- Olena Pryduvalova (Kyiv)
- Oleksii Apollonov (Kyiv)
Supported by Sense Bank