A personal exhibition of two Ukrainian designers, Yury Ryntov and Volodymyr Bondarenko, opened a new cultural project titled Object No. 2003, initiated by the Viche Ukrayiny Fund, Davis Cara studio, and Club RodDom.
The project is aimed to promote the new aesthetics of modern Ukrainian design and, moreover, create an image for the very notion of Ukrainian design. For it is an open secret that there are many who claim that design as such is nonexistent in Ukraine and that all exhibitions are merely reproductions of creations by Western design bureaus. Object No. 2003 is expected to dispel this unfounded pessimism. Aside from creating an image for the notion of Ukrainian design, the project envisions talent searches, design seasons (Object No. 2004, 2005, and so forth), exhibitions, master classes, workshops, round tables, all of which will draw attention of not only professionals in this sphere, but also politicians, business people, journalists, and rank and file admirers of all things beautiful.
Within the space of one day the organizers held a press conference, a round table, Ukrainian Design. A Birth of New Notion. Design — Production Within a Cultural Context, and presentation of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, the exhibition showed the potential of Ukrainian design. Both Ryntov and Bondarenko work to create a comfortable habitation environment, primarily through designing furniture and various accessories indispensable in the dwelling of a prosperous Ukrainian. Bizarre lampshades, wooden eggs, and emphasis on the luxury of wood multiplied by modesty and restraint lie in store for the interiors of prosperous Ukrainians. Without doubt, many creations have been apparently influenced by the style of a fashionable Danish furniture maker IKEA, which is another proof that our designers remain in the forefront of the most current trends in their field.
In fact, this is only the beginning. If the continuation proves a success, the elegant objects will enter thousands of homes in our country that has been long confined in the banal and drab space of high-rise barracks.
