Murals in Kyiv

Last updated

The Murals of Kyiv are a series of murals painted on the sides of buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine since 2014 which depict both modern and traditional art. Upwards of 160 murals are spread out across the entire city over an area of approximately 285 square kilometers. [1] [2] These murals are not funded by the government, but are instead funded by independent sponsors or art groups. [3]

Contents

Selected Artwork

The Rebuild

"The Rebuild" is a mural by Australian street artist Fintan Magee, painted in 2015. The mural depicts a lone woman with a bunch of branches in her arms, standing ankle-deep in water, seemingly after a flood. The theme of flooding recurs in many of Magee's works, and the artwork appears to represent the first steps of reconstruction and rebuilding after disaster. [4]

Serhiy Nihoyan

"Serhiy Nihoyan" is an eponymous mural of the first person to be killed in the 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots, an Armenian-Ukrainian activist who was shot by the Berkut while protesting. The portrait was created by Alexandre Fartu and lies in the Heavenly Hundred Garden, a formerly empty lot which was turned into a community space. [2]

Revival

"Revival" is a joint work by French duo Seth x Kislow, which is considered to be one of the most recognizable murals in Kyiv. Created in April 2014, the mural depicts themes of Ukrainian pride and hope for the future. [2]

Ukrainian St. George

"Ukrainian St. George" by artist AEC is an allegorical mural, referring to the story of St. George and the Dragon. The piece carries a modern political message, with the double-headed dragon representing Russia in the East and NATO in the West dividing Ukraine. [1]

The Messenger of Life

"The Messenger of Life" is a mural by Alexandr Britcev which depicts a white crow surrounded by black crows. The mural can be found tucked away in a courtyard, and references three crows which are said to have been kept in a cage in that courtyard for twenty years. [2] [1]

Untitled Work by Xav

Javier Robledo, known professionally as Xav, created an untitled mural in 2017 of a smiling boy with support from Art United Us. The mural generated controversy in the local community as it depicted a black child, and racist backlash to the mural developed as it began to take shape. However, because Robledo was not beholden financially to local government or community, the mural was completed, albeit two weeks behind schedule. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mural</span> Piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a large permanent surface

A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyiv</span> Capital of Ukraine

Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street art</span> Art that is public and temporary in public spaces

Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art," "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery</span> Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the Dnieper, northeast of the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The site is located in the historic administrative Uppertown and overlooks Podil, the city's historical commercial and merchant quarter. The monastery has been the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petro Franko</span> Ukrainian author, teacher, scientist, politician and armed forces leader

Petro Ivanovych Franko was a Ukrainian educator, pedagogue, writer, ethnographer, scientist, military leader, and politician. Franko was a co-founder of the Plast, a Ukrainian Scouting Organization, and a former member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patchewollock</span> Town in Victoria, Australia

Patchewollock is a town in north-west Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Patchewollock had a population of 149.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown area graffiti and street art</span>

Since the 1980s, the area surrounding the Sydney inner west suburb of Newtown, New South Wales (NSW), Australia—including the suburbs of Newtown, Enmore, Erskineville, Camperdown and St Peters—has been known for its wide range of prominent graffiti and street art on walls. The public visual art in the Newtown area consists of a variety of styles and methods of execution, including large-scale painted murals, hand-painted political slogans, hand-painted figurative designs, spray painted semi-abstract designs "tags"), and other stylistic developments such as stencil art and street poster art, "Yarn bombing", and sculptural items cast from plaster and other materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Art Museum of Ukraine</span> Art museum in Kyiv, Ukraine

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mykola Tseluiko</span>

Mykola Ivanovych Tseluiko, born 3 July 1937, died 31 October 2007, was a Ukrainian painter and textile artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Edouard Scott</span> American painter

William Edouard Scott was an African-American artist. Before Alain Locke asked African Americans to create and portray the New Negro that would thrust them into the future, artists like William Edouard Scott were depicting blacks in new ways to break away from the subjugating images of the past. Scott, well known for his portraits, Haitian scenes, and murals, challenged the standard depiction of blacks in art in the first half of the 20th century by utilizing black subject matter in an uplifting way. However, just as his style remained traditional as opposed to abstract, he was relatively conservative in his portrayals of blackness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gogolfest</span> International festival of contemporary art

GOGOLFEST (Ukrainian: Гогольфест) is an annual multidisciplinary international festival of contemporary art and cinema in Kyiv, Ukraine, dedicated to the famous writer Mykola Gogol. The festival showcases theater, music, film, literature, and visual art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fintan Magee</span>

Fintan Magee is an Australian street artist known for his murals throughout Australia and the world. Born in Lismore, New South Wales, he grew up in Brisbane, gaining a reputation as a graffiti writer before obtaining a fine arts degree and relocating to Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Rapay-Markish</span> Ukrainian artist, sculptor (1929–2012)

Olga Rapay-Markish was one of the best-known Ukrainian ceramicists of her era. She is especially noted for her large decorative works on buildings throughout Kyiv. Previous to her architectural decoration, she worked as a ceramicist at the Kyiv Experimental Ceramic Art Factory, where she was known for her delicate figurines as well as her paintings on china and dishware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicana art</span>

Chicana art as a specific genre emerged as part of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and used art to express political and social resistance. Through different art mediums both past and contemporary, Chicana artists explore and interrogate traditional Mexican-American values and embody feminist themes through different mediums including murals, painting, photography, and more. The momentum created from the Chicano Movement spurred a Chicano Renaissance among Chicanas and Chicanos. Political art was created by poets, writers, playwrights, and artists and used to defend against their oppression and societal marginalization. During the 1970s, Chicana feminist artists differed from their Anglo-feminist counterparts in the way they collaborated. Chicana feminist artists often utilized artistic collaborations and collectives that included men, while Anglo-feminist artists generally utilized women-only participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter art in Portland, Oregon</span> Public art in Portland, Oregon related to the Black Lives Matter movement

Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement were created in Portland, Oregon, United States, during local protests over the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Oregon Arts Watch contextualized the artistic works, stating that a "whitewashed pre-COVID lens" on American life, which obscured systemic racism, had been "cracked", and describing artists' response to racial violence being brought into the public eye was a "marathon, not a sprint".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter art</span> Related artworks

Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement have been created. These works are either seen as a direct tribute to those who have died or more broadly to the movement. Often the pieces are created in the streets as to be more publicly visible. As such several attempts have been made at preserving the art created in protest on the basis of their artistic merit and cultural significance. Increasingly, the erasure of the artwork has been a problem for preservationists. As such, the artworks below represent a fraction of the works created.

Sandy Kessler Kaminski is an American painter and mixed-media artist who is also known for her public art murals. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where her work can be found in many places throughout the city and the surrounding area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter street mural (Indianapolis)</span> Mural in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Black Lives Matter street muralin Indianapolis is a large, colorful mural reading "#BLACKLIVESMATTER", with a raised fist, that 18 artists painted across a downtown roadway in August 2020, as part of the George Floyd protests. The mural is located on Indiana Avenue, the historic hub of the city's Black culture, on the same corner as the Madam C. J. Walker Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Javelin</span> Russo-Ukrainian War meme

Saint Javelin is an Internet meme and fictional character depicted in a religious icon style as a saint-like figure cradling a modern weapon used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapon. The meme was created by Christian Borys during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and became famous around the world, eventually resulting in other similar memes. The meme boosted morale and was used in merchandise products, resulting in more than a million dollars raised for humanitarian charities assisting Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVBoy</span> Italian street artist (born 1980)

Salvatore Benintende, known by the pseudonym TVBoy, is an Italian neo-pop street artist. He is known for his murals depicting footballers and current affairs, particularly George Floyd following his murder, Vladimir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Alexia Putellas following her first Ballon d'Or Féminin win. Having begun his street art work in 1996, he has been described as "the Banksy of Barcelona", one of the cities, along with Milan, he is known for decorating.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kirsty (15 November 2017). "Street Art in Kyiv (Kiev): A Self-Guided Walking Tour". Kathmandu & Beyond. Ukraine Travel Guide. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Vitt, Kaitlin (15 February 2020). "Take a Mural Tour Through Kyiv". What's On Kyiv . Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Xav Paints New Mural in Kiev and Meets Racist Resistance". Brooklyn Street Art. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ""The Rebuild" a new mural by Fintan Magee in Kiev, Ukraine". Street Art News. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2021.