The Museum and Exhibition Center of the Museum of Kyiv History, within the framework of the Kyiv Art School project, presents the exhibition by Hanna Kryvolap “Light Through the Darkness”.

The painting series of Hanna Kryvolap are highly recognizable for their broad, unrestrained brushwork, vivid color palette, and distinctive ideas that evoke admiration. Today, the artist presents an important creative project — “Light Through the Darkness” — paintings created during the war.

“We are extremely pleased that Hanna Kryvolap returns with such a powerful exhibition to the space of the Museum and Exhibition Center of the Museum of Kyiv History. Previously, in 2019, a large-scale exhibition project ‘Involvement’ took place, where in painterly landscapes and abstract compositions the artist encoded Ukrainian symbols. The continuity of the Kyiv Art School project is no less important to us,” notes the Director General of the Museum of Kyiv History.

The impossibility of not reflecting on the events in Ukraine prompted Hanna to engage in a creative search, including in the title: “The new reality dictates different forms of expression. Under the influence of historical events, one’s perception of the world and palette change. Light always emerges through the darkness.”

The recognizable outlines of cities, like shifting silhouettes of themselves, bring us back to the winter of 2023, when the enemy destroyed everything that provided light and warmth. The heroes of the artist’s portraits are representatives of the creative intelligentsia who could not remain in the rear and joined the ranks of the Defenders of Ukraine, exchanging brushes and pencils for weapons.

The curator of the Kyїv Art School project, Dmytro Struk, notes: “I became acquainted with the work of Hanna Kryvolap quite a long time ago; I must admit, I was always inspired by her series of landscapes and horizons. Today, it is a different project and a very powerful story. I sincerely wish that as many people as possible are moved by it. I understand how difficult it is to create and implement new projects during the war; however, Hanna demonstrates an example of her ‘light’ in these difficult times for Ukraine and for each of us.”

About the project:
Kyїv Art School was founded jointly with the Museum of Kyiv History in 2017. During this time, retrospective exhibitions of such well-known artists as Petro Lebedynets, Vladyslav Shereshevskyi, Olena Pryduvalova, Oleksii Apolonov, Hanna Myronova, Ihor Konovalov, Volodymyr Bovkun, Olesia Dzhuraieva, Anton Lohov, and Tetiana Rusetska have taken place. The project demonstrates the history of the formation and development of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts through exhibitions of Kyiv artists who received professional education at the Academy. Thanks to the project, works by the best contemporary artists replenish the Museum’s collections and contribute to preserving the history of Kyiv art for future generations.

About the artist:
Hanna Kryvolap was born in Kyiv into an artistic family of the painter Anatolii Kryvolap and the artist-ethnographer Zinaida Vasina. She studied at the Taras Shevchenko State Secondary Art School (1989–1995; teachers Zoia Lerman and Oleh Zhyvotkov). She received her higher education at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in the studio of Danylo Lider. The artist’s paintings have been exhibited in solo exhibitions in Germany, the USA, Switzerland, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, and Montenegro. She is a participant in group, national, and international exhibitions, plein airs, and art projects. She is a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and the international art association “Syrlin Kunsverein International”. Hanna’s works are held in the collections of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the Museum of Modern Fine Art of Ukraine (Kyiv), the Zaporizhzhia Regional Art Museum, the Museum of Young Art (MOYA; Vienna, Austria), as well as in numerous private collections in Ukraine and abroad.

Throughout the exhibition, a series of engaging art events will take place:

An author’s guided tour-dialogue with the artist Hanna Kryvolap and art historian Hanna Vladymyrska;
A round table discussion — “Creativity During War”, or what cultural resistance means;
“A heartfelt conversation”: a meeting with the protagonists of the paintings — representatives of Ukraine’s creative intelligentsia who joined the ranks of the Defenders of Ukraine
17 September — art talk “Art and Marketing. Global Experience. Creative Collaborations”

The organizers express their sincere gratitude to the project’s partners — the construction company “Kreator Bud”, the law firm “Asters”, the charitable foundation “Manus Dei”, and the company “Rosa” — a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of painting materials.