Daria Marchenko and Daniel Green: Five Elements of War
January 25 – February 4, 2018

Art at the Institute was pleased to present Five Elements of War, an installation of multimedia artworks by Ukrainian artist-activists Daria Marchenko and Daniel Green depicting their critical commentary on and reaction to the recognized causes, turmoil and consequences of the ongoing Russian military aggression and war waged in eastern Ukraine. The exhibition opened on Thursday, January 25, 2018 with an artist talk and reception (PHOTOS), and continues through February 4, 2018.

This exhibition was featured in: Time Out New York,  amNewYork,  CNN.

Underwritten and presented by Raymond F. Staples, Esq., Five Elements of War was arranged and organized for display at The Ukrainian Institute of America by Walter Hoydysh, PhD, director of Art at the Institute. Read Press Release.

The Ukrainian Institute of America thanks Raymond F. Staples, Esq., Self-Reliance NY Federal Credit Union and JRS Management Co. for their generous support in making this exhibition possible.

Exhibition hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 PM, or by appointment.

Les Panchyshyn: Moving Forward
February 2 – February 12, 2018

Opening reception for the artist: Friday, February 2, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm 
Please RSVP to attend.

Art at the Institute is pleased to present Moving Forward, an exhibition of recent abstract and figurative paintings by Ukrainian artist Les Panchyshyn communicating and connecting with an exploratory manifestation he calls “self-identification.” His works employ universal organic symbols of his own design that transcend time, place and language to appeal to the level of the unconscious mind, offering a pathway of release from his past and present. Curated by Walter Hoydysh, PhD and Christina Dnistrian, doctoral candidate at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), this exhibition marks Mr. Panchyshyn’s first showing with the Ukrainian Institute of America. 

Panchyshyn asserts that “moving forward” is essential to one’s evolving development and the ultimate realization of dreams. Three series of canvases will demonstrably link a narrative examining the artist’s conceptual yet ironic interpretations and reflections on eternity, the past and the future: Space, Forests and Figuration. Here, the mind is his subject, not so much the organic shapes and forms occupying his canvases.

Les Panchyshyn was born in Novy Rosdil, Ukraine and later moved to Lviv where attended and graduated from the Lviv Academy of Arts. As a photographer and video director, he produced work in collaboration with Ukrainian musical groups such as Pikkardiyska Tersiya, Komu Vnyz, Panchyshyn, Antytila, Vivienne Mort, and Rock-H. Les Panchyshyn has participated in group and solo exhibitions in Ukraine, Austria, Canada, Switzerland and the US. He lives and works in Lviv.

Exhibition hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 PM.

Martin Luther’s Deutsche Messe of 1526
February 3 at 7:30 pm
 
Incorporating elements by Polish/Ukrainian Composer Marcin Leopolita (also Marcin from Lviv, ca. 1540-1589).

Ensemble Origo
ERIC RICE, conductor

While Martin Luther’s liturgical reforms ultimately led to a liturgy that is very distinct from the Catholic Mass, his early reforms are an interesting hybrid of German chorales and Latin Mass sections. Ensemble Origo performs a reconstructed German service according to Luther’s suggestions but also employing polyphony by Marcin Leopolita, who was born in Lviv, studied in Poland, and was active in Ukraine until his death in Lviv in 1589.

General admission $25, students and seniors $10, UIA Members free.
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An Evening of Jazz
February 10 at 7:00 pm

The Ukrainian Institute of America invites you to an intimate evening of jazz in a relaxed setting with Bob Arthurs, trumpet and Steve LaMattina, guitar.

“Jazz it Up” is a CD release featuring a garland of heart-felt Ukrainian songs that include familiar folkloric tunes and original pieces by Ukrainian authors or composers. 

Bob Arthurs is a jazz trumpet player, vocalist, and recording artist who has been appearing in clubs and at festivals in the New York area and abroad for almost five decades. New York venues include Birdland, Iridium, Jazz Standard, Cornelia Street Cafe, Cleopatra's Needle, Somethin' Jazz Club, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, and the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center Plaza among others.

General admission: $30 | UIA members free | Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres included.
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The Basketweavers of Iza
An exhibition of photographs by Anna Voitenko
February 16 – March 14, 2018

Opening reception for the artist: Friday, February 16, 6:00–8:00 pm.

For the better part of two years from 2006–2008, Ukrainian photographer Anna Voitenko documented the unique life of willow work artisans in the village of Iza (Zakarpatska Oblast), Ukraine.

From bygone eras, the people inhabiting the Transcarpathian territories in and around the village of Iza have practiced the ancient art of applied and decorative basketry, passing down family craft technique from generation to generation. From withe that is locally grown, cultivated and boiled, every resident — female, male, old, and young — is actively involved in the demanding production of exquisitely designed wicker furniture, tableware, and ceremonial or ritual “Iza” baskets, for which the village is best known.

Ms. Voitenko aspired to create a portrait of a community, scanning the entire range of an intricate web of social, economic, cultural and spiritual forces that make up a dedicated single-craft town. She photographed Iza’s institutions and structures, its class and culture, its activities, aspects and mood. Above all, she photographed its people.

Voitenko’s deeply humanistic pictorial documentary restructures and expands the expressive possibilities of the photographic essay. It fosters an understanding, compassion, and hope among those who see it. The Basketweavers is personal and poetic, dense with intricate associations, metaphors, and visual puns.

Anna Voitenko graduated from the National Technical University of Ukraine / Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (Kyiv, Ukraine). Her photographs have been exhibited in Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S. Her visual essay about the willow work artisans of Iza was published as a photobook (Voitenko, Anna and Tsvyd, Vitaliy. Iza. Kyiv: Artbook, 2008). Ms. Voitenko lives and works in Kyiv.

This exhibition is arranged and co-curated by Olena Martynyuk, doctoral candidate in art history at Rutgers University, and Walter Hoydysh, PhD, director of Art at the Institute.

The Basketweavers of Iza was previously shown at The Ukrainian Museum (New York) from April 9 to November 12, 2017, where it was curated by Olena Martynyuk.

Exhibition hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm.

Image: Anna Voitenko, Loading boiled willows on to horse-drawn cart at sunset (Iza, Ukraine), 2007, archival inkjet print, 13½ x 20 inches.

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