This time the Chocolate House [branch of the Russian Art Museum of Ukraine] on Shovkovychna St. in Kyiv offers a pre-auction contemporary art exhibit made up of works by internationally acclaimed and young Ukrainian painters (e.g., Anatolii Kryvolap, Vasyl Tsaholov, Roman Zhuk, Tyberii Silvashi, Petro Bevza, Pavlo Kerestei, Zinaida Likhachova). Yevhen Kuzmenko, collector and auction organizer, believes that a good art collection should boast at least 140-150 names. This art exhibit meets his standard. Kuzmenko has been collecting works by contemporary artists for the past five years. Today his collection numbers some three hundred objets d’art.
Most of the items on display are canvases, so Semesiuk’s wooden chest, Kuzmenko’s mosaic, Morhatsky’s sculpture, and Likhachova’s installations are a nice addition to diversify the exhibit, considering that the artists used a variety of materials: bronze, glass cloth, iron, vine, and silkscreen.
The auction worth of the display is estimated at 1,115,000 dollars, the highest in the history of Ukraine’s art auctions. This sum looks puzzling, mildly speaking, considering Ukraine’s current economic status. Well, there are people in Ukraine who aren’t scared by today’s hardships, and the organizing committee insists that this sum is peanuts, what with this coming auction matching international standards.
Tyberii Silvashi’s untitled abstractionist triptych tops the list of the lots (starting at 60,000 dollars), followed by Vasyl Tsaholov’s Ballet Dancer (of the Swan Lake series: 40-50 thousand dollars). Among the favorites are Roman Zhuk’s Chameleons (1988; 45-60 thousand hryvnias).
This pre-auction exhibit will be open until February 24, the auction date.
