About event
In 2022, during the occupation of Kherson, Russian forces looted the Kherson Regional Art Museum, which holds the largest collection of works by Oleksii Shovkunenko. Out of 158 paintings and graphic works, the looters stole 148. By a stroke of luck, the portrait of the artist's wife, Oleksandra Vasylivna (1936), was saved—the painting had been "hidden" behind a large tapestry. Eight other works were undergoing restoration outside of Kherson, which spared them from theft.
Oleksii Shovkunenko was a renowned watercolorist and portraitist who grew up in Kherson. He was the first artist from the Kherson region to be awarded the Shevchenko National Prize. His portraits of Maksym Rylskyi, Pavlo Tychyna, and Nataliia Uzhvii perfectly align with the spirit and substance of the prize and have become part of the Ukrainian artistic canon. Despite his awards and titles, Shovkunenko was criticized for "excessive emotionality" and an impressionistic style that did not fit within the constraints of socialist realism. Today, however, it is precisely that use of color, light, and sincere emotion that is considered most valuable in his work.
The nine paintings presented in the exhibition vary in period and theme, demonstrating the diversity of Shovkunenko's art. Among them are landscapes from the artist's numerous travels, as well as an impressionistic landscape with water lilies. The museum space features portraits of Shovkunenko's first and second wives, as well as the pilot Kalenychenko. Standing out among the other works is the industrial landscape "Azovstal." It is part of a series of works themed around the industrial development of the Donetsk region, serving as an artistic testimony to the era of industrialization. In our wartime present, these works take on new meanings, serving as a reminder of the heroic defense of Azovstal and the occupation of Mariupol.
The saved works of Oleksii Shovkunenko are silent witnesses to war crimes and, at the same time, a symbol of hope for the revival of the Kherson Regional Art Museum. The project "Kherson. Shovkunenko. Saved" continues the collaboration between two leading Ukrainian museums—one in Kyiv and one in Kherson—serving as a testament to solidarity, support, and creative synergy.
The exhibition is dedicated to the founding day of the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Regional Art Museum, International Museum Day, and the anniversary of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.
