Renovation is a state of mind. From the Series “Such earnings”

Oleg Kharch (born 1963, Sumy) is a Kyiv artist who works in various media — painting, video, digital. In 2013, the Mystetskyi Arsenal hosted the artist’s first solo exhibition named Such earnings — an empirical documentary embodied in painting, which, although it does not formally express a sharp critical attitude to the situation, being rather pastoral, is still an acute definition of the issue of earnings.

“Everyone has the right to emotions,” Oleg Kharch says. “It was emotions that became the reason for creating this series of works. These are constantly popping-up obsessive details about hard labour in the past: cast iron, sand, sea salt on the lips, unbearable scorching sun, banana boxes, pipes, concrete, pneumonia, drill, construction sites, returning home with a strange exhausting feeling and hryvnias in your pocket.” The title of the work from this series of paintings, Renovation is a state of mind, is perceived in the contemporary context as a relevant prediction of the future.

Photo: Oleksandr Popenko © Mystetskyi Arsenal