A masked burglar next to a man bound and blindfolded in an etching by Kiev artists Kristina Yarosh and Anna Khodkova aka etchingroom1;
Wolves surrounding a woman in the bathtub, as depicted in a painting by the artist from Lemberg, who goes by the stage name of Kinder Album: many artists from Ukraine have been expressing their feeling of growing threat more and more sharply for a long time, says gallery owner Cornélia Schmidmayr.
When the first bombs appeared in pictures in December, she and her business partner Ivanna Bertrand knew that the situation was getting worse.
Ursula Scheer
Editor in the Feuilleton.
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Their ArtEast Gallery, located in Berlin and Kyiv, with which Franco-German Schmidmayr and Franco-Ukrainian Bertrand want to build a bridge between East and West, was only a few months old.
Photos from the June opening in the Ukrainian capital show a multinational celebration in the sunshine.
The hope was deceptive.
“Many have fought in recent years for Ukraine to find a place in Europe.
But they were voices in the desert: Europe hasn't looked for far too long," says Schmidmayr, and the emotional exertion of the past few weeks resonates in her voice.
Now that the invasion of Russia has replaced a sense of threat with a new reality in Ukraine created by military brutality, with cities under fire and millions fleeing, the founders of ArtEast Gallery are clear: “We have bigger things to do .” They are constantly in contact with family members, artists and cooperation partners in the country: those who persevered and others who made their way to the West.
It's about survival - and the survival of art.
"Culture is what makes us human - and Putin also has Ukrainian culture in his sights," says Schmidmayr.
To protect them from destruction, the gallery owners set up a foundation, the Peace for Art Foundation.
It is intended to create "safe spaces" for artists and their work.
Solidarity must be permanent
But how is this currently possible?
Schmidmayr tells of a car transport that they organized to get a graphic artist's printing plates to the western part of the Ukraine.
A photographer who didn't want to leave his town sent them his entire work in the form of files to be backed up in case something happened to him.
It is still possible to send money and give artists financial support.
They wanted to make it possible for those who wanted to continue working artistically – and also to help those who couldn't at the moment.
The website of the Peace for Art Foundation, registered in France, has been rushed online.
Creatives and institutions can use it to apply for help and obtain information from donors.
The board consists of the founders, supporters and cultural experts.
The foundation's capital of 15,000 euros was raised within a very short time, says Schmidmayr - with small and very small amounts.
This shows her that every contribution counts.
One of the foundation's first projects is an exhibition of photos by Viktoria Sorochinski.
In her project "Lands of No-Return" she documents the last inhabitants of dying villages in the Ukrainian countryside.
The war gives the images an even greater urgency.
A literary translation and help for the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv in protecting its collection are also on the funding list.
Saving what can be saved is the motto.
The gallery in Berlin, now cut off from its sources, is still open and is showing an exhibition by the artist Kinder Album.
"Once upon a time ... three dead parrots" presents naive-surreal gouaches, paintings and objects between superficial cheerfulness and profound horror: a rescue operation in the forest, the wolf pack and the bather, ceramic birds lying on their backs (640 to 5200 euros) .
What characterizes the Ukrainian cultural scene?
Schmidmayr, who worked for the French cultural institute in Kyiv after Maidan 2014 and met Bertrand there, who co-founded the Photo Kyiv trade fair in 2017, speaks of fearlessness.
“Even young Ukrainian artists have experienced several revolutions and wars.
That shapes her.
They have been forced to start over again and again and are not afraid of the blank sheet or new techniques.
You know what fighting for freedom of expression means.”
The currently overwhelming solidarity should not make us forget that a long-term commitment is required.
At some point the war will be over and nobody knows what the invaded country will look like then.
"We have to promise never to let Ukraine down again," says Cornélia Schmidmayr.
Children's Album, Once upon a time . . . three dead parrots”
, ArtEast Gallery Berlin Kyiv, until April 20th