Mystetskyi Arsenal presents a new exhibition by Olena Turyanska, “Agape. Absolute love”
On October 24, 2024, at 6:30 PM, we invite you to the opening of Olena Turyanska’s personal exhibition “Agape. Absolute love”.
In the five halls of the Old Arsenal, a coherent space of the contemporary Ukrainian artist Olena Turyanska will be set up, where her memory, the memories of people she knows, and their ways of recording stories/history constitute a narrative. It will reflect today’s state — fear, fatigue, loss, trauma — and ultimately finding the strength to live and not forget.
Curators of the project: Oksana Barshynova and Olga Zhuk.
The concept of agápē, which gave the name to the exhibition, derives from the philosophical teachings of ancient Greeks. They used it to denote the supreme form of love—unconditional and all-encompassing, broader than interpersonal. Rather, it is a volitional love that does not arise through rational evaluation, but one that gives value to the other through care.
With this project, Mystetskyi Arsenal resumes the program of representing prominent names in the recent history of Ukrainian art. It commenced in the spring of 2017 with Oleksandr Hnylytsky’s “Reality of Illusion” personal exhibition and was developed with the following exhibitions: “Kirill Protsenko. Impassioned” (2018), “Oleg Holosiy. Non-stop Painting” (2019) and “Andrii Sahaidakovskyi. The Scenery. Welcome!” in autumn 2020.
Olena Turyanska’s exhibition “Agape. Absolute love” grows out naturally from the artist’s earlier practice developing those subjects that are inherent to her: memory, the interrelationship of space and time, and the search for the balance between the external and the internal. At the same time, it reveals a new experience from recent years, which we might call (co)experiencing History.
The artist contemplates the question that you inevitably come to during a war:
How do you avoid letting yourself disappear as a human being under the pressure of tragic circumstances?
We offer to look for the answer together at a unique exhibition within the walls of the Old Arsenal and live this experience through interacting with contemporary Ukrainian art.
Olena Turyanska, together with the Mystetskyi Arsenal team, will inaugurate the exhibition on October 24, 2024. Therefore, media representatives will have the opportunity to talk with the artist personally.
The press tour of the exhibition will take place on the opening day, October 24, at 5:30 PM.
You can visit the exhibition from October 24, 2024, to February 2, 2025.
Working hours: Wednesday-Sunday, from 12 PM to 7 PM.
On the opening day, October 24, the exhibition will be open from 6 PM to 9 PM.