Art at the Crossroads: Konstantin Akinsha on Ukrainian Modernism

[FORTHCOMING]

Abstract

In January 2025, the reviews editors of Apparatus sat down with Konstantin Akinsha, distinguished art historian and curator, to discuss his groundbreaking exhibition The Juncture: Ukrainian Artists in Search of Modernity and Identity at the Mead Art Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts that featured the works of three Ukrainian artists: Oleksandr Arkhipenko (known in the West as Alexander Archipenko) (1887–1964), Oleksandr Bohomazov (1880–1930), and Vasyl Yermilov (1894–1968). The exhibition was organised in connection with In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s, the sprawling exhibition of Ukrainian Modernism which has travelled to Madrid (29 November 2022-2 May 2023), Cologne (3 June - September 24, 2023), Brussels (19 October 2023-28 January 2024), Vienna (23 February - 2 June 2024), and London (29 June - 13 October 2024). The exhibition explored the complex intersections of Modernism, cultural identity, and national history. The conversation delves into the themes that underpin Akinsha’s curatorial approach, particularly how the political and cultural upheavals of early 20th-century Ukraine shaped the Modernist movements of the time. Akinsha offers a compelling perspective on how the exhibition connects to broader cultural and political conversations in 2025, reflecting on how Modernism, particularly in Ukraine, continues to be an active force in understanding the intersection of local identity with global artistic movements. Through his insight, we are invited to reflect not only on the artistic legacies of Archipenko, Bohomazov, and Yermilov but also on the urgent role of art in the context of conflict, memory, and national resilience.