It is now interesting even for motorists and inveterate pedestrians to take a ride in Kyiv’s subway. Earlier, yellow-streaked blue cars were scantily ornamented with posters that advertised handkerchiefs, shaving razors, and flu medicines. A Spanish artist, Kenor Martinez Vanbergen, recently painted a metro train as part of the Art United Us project. Several cars now display bright abstract compositions that look like fragments of a rainbow. This is a gift to the capital’s residents on the occasion of Kyiv Day marked on the last Sunday of May.
Kenor is a Barcelona-based artist who specializes in flamboyant geometric painting and often works in public space. His murals can be seen in many cities of Spain, Poland, Germany, Denmark, and France.
The artist has also carried out a project, similar to the one in Kyiv, in the Netherlands.
Immediately after the presentation, the parti-colored train ran down the metro’s “red line” – so the first passengers have already appreciated the novelty. “In general, our project, Art United Us, is aimed at making gray bedroom suburbs look joyous and bright,” the Kyiv City Hall website quotes Deputy Mayor Illia Sahaidak as saying. On his part, Art United Us project manager Geo Leros emphasizes that they are planning to ornament three or four more metro trains. To be continued, as the phrase goes!
Photo by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
