Works by Ukrainian artists Polina Raiko and Liubov Panchenko exhibited in Italy for the first time – photos

Colori Spenti (Faded Colours), an exhibition of works by Ukrainian artists Polina Raiko and Liubov Panchenko, many of whose artworks have been damaged in the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, opened in the Centro Brera gallery in Milan, Italy, on 18 November.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda, with reference to the Ukrainian Institute

Details: The exhibition includes artworks by three Ukrainian artists: Liubov Panchenko, Polina Raiko and Zhanna Kadyrova.

"Exhibiting Panchenko’s and Raiko’s work in Italy is about more than just showing their art. Their work’s bright colours contrast the tragedy brought by the Russian aggression: death, ecological disasters, and scorched earth. It’s particularly important to convey this to the Italians, many of whom still experience sympathy for the so-called ‘great Russian culture’," says Kseniia Kalyna, the exhibition’s organiser and the head of the communications department at the Ukrainian Institute.

The war has affected the work and legacy of the three artists included in the exhibition in different ways. Polina Raiko, a naïve artist, has turned her house into an art space, with each wall depicting stories from her life alongside Biblical and mythical motives. Raiko died in 2004, but the residents of her native Kherson Oblast have strived to protect her legacy.

Raiko’s house was nearly entirely destroyed when Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Liubov Panchenko was a fashion designer in the 1960s; she drew inspiration from traditional Ukrainian culture. Her clothing designs were replicated in Soviet factories, and her oeuvre includes many collages, landscape paintings, and costume designs for the Ukrainian choir.

Panchenko did not survive the Russian occupation of Bucha in 2022 and died shortly after the city was liberated at the age of 84.

Zhanna Kadyrova is a contemporary artist whose work tells the story of the war today, turning the symbols of destruction into powerful artistic statements. Her work has been exhibited at international art fairs, such as the Venice Biennale.

"We are very proud and consider it an honour to help promote Ukrainian art in Italy. We Italians are lucky to live without Russian missiles flying over our heads, but we still have not acknowledged that Ukraine is protecting all of us from this and defending our freedom," says Christian Rocca, editorial director of Linkiesta, an independent Italian online publication. 

"Taking part in this project," Rocca continues, "is the least that our publication can do; articles, ideas, and truthful information are the tools we can use to shape public opinion in Italy to oppose pernicious Russian imperialism."

The exhibition will be on until 28 November 2024. It was organised by the Ukrainian Institute alongside Linkiesta and with the support of the Ukrainian Embassy in Italy.

The following events will take place alongside the main exhibition:

• 20 November: a discussion of the cultural and environmental losses Ukraine has suffered in the Russian war;
• 26 November: Discovering Ukrainian Art gathering.

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