Even though our contemporary age does not seem to favor sophisticated, creative endeavors (has there ever been a propitious age for art?), France knows how to promote its modern art. Be that as it may, a solo exhibit by Frederic Arditi, a 35-year old French artist who is so far unknown in Ukraine, which was held at the French Cultural Center, did not pass unnoticed. The ceremony launching the exhibit was attended by critics and some noted Kyiv painters.
The exhibit consisted of several dozen small works incorporating monotypes, collages, and woodcuts so favored by the artist. Everything was figurative, but the meaning was very clear, at times even straightforward in a poster-like way. The roots of his art are apparent: the prolific Parisian artist is strongly influenced by his celebrated French predecessors, Dadaists and cubists, as well as by German expressionists, and colleagues living abroad, the American founders of pop art. Arditi’s works teem with images common to all these trends: violence, sex, torture, and carnal passions prophetically replicated through standard television technology: people with weapons, cross-sections of people; star athletes and mutilated carcasses of automobiles; bare legs and homeless children; endless rows of chairs in dark rooms; commercial slogans. All told, his pictures reflect the avalanche of information that bombards us on a daily basis. Everything is arranged so as to reinforce the awareness of chaos and disorientation, as though space has gone crazy.
Arditi is like countless other young and not so young artists, many of whose works are displayed at various biennials and exhibits in Ukraine and abroad. In his case, however, he has a chance of making a name for himself. This artist is obviously convinced that he is doing the right thing. There is a distinct conservative touch to his works, as well as a predictable sense of humor. Most of his Ukrainian postmodernist peers possess none of these traits.
