Naive art in the Barvy art space
On May 12, the opening of the collective exhibition of naïve art "Unlimited" took place in the Barvy restaurant-art space. Naïve art is a direction close to primitivism, it combines non-professional amateur and folk art, the art of self-taught artists who do not have a higher professional education. This genre is found in almost every country, works of naïve art hang on the walls of the most famous galleries and museums in the world. The exhibition presents the works of Volodymyr Turovsky,
Oleksandr Meshcheriyak, Anastasia Osmolovska, Kateryna Kosyak, Anna Voytenko, Flora Gatsenko, Tosha Ignatenko, Oleksandra Klitina, Iryna Rylach, Valery Puzyk, Oleksandr Lyapin.
“To become truly immortal, a work of art must transcend human limitations... But once these barriers are broken, it enters the realm of childhood visions and dreams.” – Giorgio de Chirico
According to the project organizers, the key word here is “childhood”. naïve art takes the ordinary and adds charm. It transforms the reality of adult life into the weightless joy of youth. Thus, naïve art transforms reality into something else, something better, more interesting. It is considered pure art, not overshadowed by academic clichés, craftsmanship, artificial intellectualism. Naïve artists are sincere, they are romantic and defenseless in their honesty and openness. Their creativity has no borders, frameworks, or self-limitations. This is the free flight of a person who was not told by art teachers what is right and what is wrong, as it should be and as it should not be. For "naïve" artists, simplicity and sincerity in the art are deepened by philosophical ambiguity. The magnitude of the talent of such artists often overshadows the lack of some professional skills. On the other hand, a lack of education gives them freedom from rules, stereotypes, or established priorities. Therefore, "naïve" artists are able to overcome stereotypes and look for new, unusual dimensions of the artistic worldview. It is no accident that naïve art loves to experiment.
The winning decision was to hold this exhibition not on the classic, pure white walls of the modern art gallery, but in the active, lively, colorful space of the restaurant, where the works are in harmonious interaction with the viewer. Here, naïve art is not isolated by the framework of classical exposition, which would be the opposite of the very essence of this art direction. The creativity of "naïve" artists depends on the combination of an image from nature and imagination, so they are often plein air artists; many of them are interested not only in the opinion of true art fans, academies and critics, but also in ordinary people, so they become promoters of naïve art outside the galleries, often even on the street. Thus, the organizers of the exhibition harmoniously combined form and content.
One cannot fail to notice the dissonance between the curatorial text, the idea of the exhibition, and the speech of curator Oleksandr Lyapin. According to him, naïve art is the art of self-taught artists, artists who do not have a higher professional education, and thus almost all project participants have other "main" works, and creativity for them is rather additional, derivative. This is not only untrue but also contrasts with the very idea of naïve art, that one does not need to meet academic standards to be considered a serious artist. Exhibitors, such as Flora Gatsenko, a biologist without any art education, devote their lives to art in the same way as artists with a professional education and an academic background.
In general, the exhibition made a positive impression and allowed the audience to get to know such an important movement for Ukraine as naïve art. The exhibition will be held until 12/06 at the address of Kyiv, str. Mechnikova, 3, art restaurant "Barvy".
The text was prepared by Tatiana Safir, an art critic and art manager of the Imagine Point gallery
