“Art Brut Extraordinary”
June 6 – June 20, 2025
Opening: June 6, 2025, at 7:00 PM
Free Admission
“Art Brut Extraordinary” is a unique artistic project showcasing the work of young artists from the “Studio of Ola Stawnykowycz” (Lviv, Ukraine).
Since the beginning of 2025, the studio has been undergoing a process of rebranding and actively searching for its identity, asking the question:
Who are we – art brut or contemporary art?
Artists:
Andrij Lesiuk
Anton Kurenkov
Danylo Halijchuk
Dawyd Komar
Ewa Kowalczyk
Mariia Humenna
Marjana Hazda
Mykhailo Vatamaniuk
Nestor Shmyhelskyi
Nikol Lapustina
Sofiia Zhuk
Weronika Zajarna
Vlad Zajda
Vitalii Vey
Yulia Kuryliak
Since 2020, Ola Stavnykovych’s studio has been developing the art brut direction in Lviv. Together with artists of various ages, Ola explores and cultivates a Ukrainian version of the “naïve” style – from traditional motifs of Hutsul icons to abstraction. Step by step, the studio is building the first museum of art brut in Ukraine.
Art brut (French for “raw art”) is a term describing the work of self-taught, non-professional artists. The movement emerged in the 20th century, inspired by French artist Jean Dubuffet, who used the term to describe his collection of outsider artworks – created by individuals marginalized by society. Art brut is closely related to genres such as naïve art, folk art, intuitive art, visionary art, and primitivism.
Among the most important representatives of naïve art (a term coined by Otto Bihalji-Merin) in Ukraine are:
Maria Buriak, Maria Prymachenko, Oleksandr Vyshnyk, Polina Rayko, Ivan Lysenko, Yelyzaveta Myronova, Ivan Cherniakhovsky.
Main themes of the exhibition:
• The Singing Field
• Silence
• An Alternative History of Kateryna
• Still Lifes from 2022–2024
• Geniuses and Their Favorites
A key visual element of the exhibition is the non-linear representation of objects, characteristic of art brut creators. A notable example is Weronika Zajarna’s “Movement of Flowers”, depicting flowers in a vase – where the artist intuitively arrives at abstraction, communicating with the object through its non-linearity while still preserving the essence of a still life.
In observing the works of artists in this genre, we notice that abstraction through non-linearity becomes a natural means of expression.
Another hallmark is the fantastically free movement of color – as in Yewa Kovalchuk’s “Movement of Red”, where red dominates and becomes form itself. Color becomes the main vehicle of expression – as in Sofia Zhuk’s “Kateryna”, where the movement of green gives dynamism to the classical image of Kateryna from Taras Shevchenko’s “Kobzar”. The green color literally “pushes” the figure as she runs down a slope – creating a new visual metaphor for a woman escaping from a community that discriminates against her.
Art Brut in Ukraine
This is still a developing field that requires further research, reflection, and the crafting of a language capable of expressing its complexity.
With this exhibition, we aim to draw attention to Ukrainian art brut and invite viewers to engage with the young artists of Lviv – to discover and co-create this unique form of art.
Text author: Olena Polischuk
Exhibition Team:
Curators: Ola Stavnykovych, Olena Polischuk
Graphic Design: Sofia Stadnyk
Art Director: Serhiy Savchenko
Organizers:
Gallery “Svitlo”, Lviv, Ukraine
Savchenko Gallery, Gdańsk, Poland
Savchenko Foundation, Gdańsk, Poland
Special thanks for project support to the family of Ihor and Larysa Jaikievych from Lviv
RC Foundation, Gdańsk
Co-financed by the City of Gdańsk
Opening of the exhibition 06.06. 2025 ( photo Olga Savchenko):
works from the exhibition:
Expositoin:
