The exhibition brings together two seminal figures of contemporary Ukrainian art – sculptor Oleksandr Dyachenko and painter Oleksandr Babak. Their collaboration is far from coincidental: their creative inquiries and thematic interests intersect in an exploration of historical anthropology and the topography of the Ukrainian landscape, elements that profoundly shape the imagery of their works refined yet monumental in form and spirit.

Their artistic approach is defined by a measured pace and a deliberate resistance to immediacy in responding to the rapid shifts of mood and events. Rather than reacting, they contemplate, offering a deep and balanced reflectionon fundamental existential questions, resting within a space of equilibrium and quiet.

In 2025, the second sculpture route was opened in Stryiskyi Park. This time, the works were installed along the Platanus Alley, transforming the area into an open and vibrant gallery. The route features twelve monumental granite sculptures. The participating artists include Oleksandr Diachenko, Illia Novgorodov, Vasyl Tatarskyi, Vincent Bofis-Urdigas, Lien Chinh Ho, Alessio Ranaldi, Yurii Bahalyka, Thomas Oliva, and Joni Gogaberishvili.

The project was realized as part of the Lviv Sculpture Week 2025 festival, continuing the activities of the ChervoneChorne art collective and the Kaniv International Sculpture Symposium.

The Face of the Eye is the first solo curatorial project by Ukrainian artist Vlada Ralko. The exhibition brings together works by Yuri Leiderman, Volodymyr Budnikov, Vlada Ralko, Bernhard Vogt, and Dieter Ruckhaberle. Within this project, history is not merely a backdrop – it becomes the very canvas of human existence, where political, ethical, and personal are intricately intertwined.

The exhibition unfolds as a dialogue between Kyiv and Berlin, where each artwork becomes a point of contact between cultures, experiences, and generations that shape the complex optics of our time.

The sculptural ensemble in the courtyard of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine embodies the idea of dialogue between cultures through art. The works of Oleksandr Diachenko, Oleksii Zolotar, and Roland Hoeft form a spatial narrative and aestetic statement in which archaic Ukrainian motifs, timeless imagery, and contemporary geometry create a multilayered interplay between past and present.

Situated within the diplomatic corps, this ensemble functions as an instrument of cultural diplomacy, emphasizing the role of art in shaping and sustaining international relations.

The Kaniv International Sculpture Symposium is an annual art event that brings together sculptors from Ukraine and internationally to create contemporary stone sculptures in natural locations around Kaniv. The symposium was launched in 2011 and has become one of the longest-running and most prominent stone sculpture events in Ukraine.

The symposium provides artists with professional working conditions: materials, technical support, accommodation, and space for creative experimentation. Participants work directly with local stone and landscape, creating works that interact with the natural context and shape the unique cultural atmosphere of Kaniv.

The sculptures created during the symposium eventually find their place in Ukrainian cities. Some of the works have already been installed in Lviv, where nearly 20 sculptures are organically woven into the urban environment of Stryisky Park, bringing contemporary sculpture to the public spaces.

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In 2023, a new space for contemporary art appeared in one of the most picturesque places in Lviv, Stryiskyi Park. Eight sculptures, created mostly from grey granite, bring together different artistic traditions and worldviews. Among the authors are Ukrainian sculptors Oleksandr Diachenko, Vasyl Korchovyi, Vitalii Protoseniia, and Oleg Kapustiak, as well as Japanese master Yoshin Ogata and Bulgarian sculptor Zdravko Zdravkov.

The creation of the sculpture route continued the tradition of the Kaniv International Sculpture Symposium, founded in 2011. This project expresses the philosophy of the Yurii Stashkiv Foundation: to make art visible. Art should become an integral part of the environment, dissolving into it while retaining its primary function – the changes it provokes in people.

The foundation actively supports publishing and research projects that shape the intellectual foundation of contemporary Ukrainian culture. This activity is an important decolonial practice aimed at developing and emancipating the Ukrainian cultural narrative from the historical dominance of Russian and Soviet imperial influence. To date, 14 books have been published on the work of Ukrainian artists, including Vlada Ralko, Volodymyr Budnikov, Oleksandr Babak, and Tetiana Minenko.

This multifaceted work, involving book publishing, academic and professional research, and extensive collaboration with art critics and experts, contributes not only to the preservation and popularisation of creative heritage, but also to the formation of a comprehensive body of knowledge about current trends and processes in Ukrainian culture.

The Foundation supports the a_brüke artist residency in Berlin, which has been running since the summer of 2024 and has become an important space for the artists Vlada Ralko and Volodymyr Budnikov during the full-scale Russian invasion and regular shelling of their hometown Kyiv. The residency ensures conditions for the continuation of their artistic practice and the representation of the Ukrainian voices in the European culture context.

The residency featured exhibitions by Volodymyr Budnikov, including ‘Form of Presence,’ Mein Konto,’ and ‘Botanical Garden,’ as well as ‘Not My Room,’ ‘Paper Bridge,’ and ‘Face of the Eye’ by Vlada Ralko. The exhibitions were held at the Alles Mögliche Gallery, Art Space in Exile, Open Studio Künstlerhof Frohnau and other venues in Berlin, forming an important cultural bridge between Ukraine and Germany.

The Hero city of Irpin is actively working on a new development strategy that goes beyond simple restoration and elimination of the destructive consequences of Russian terrorist attacks. Culture plays a key role in this process.

By initiating a project to install the sculpture “Meditation Space for a Monk” by Japanese sculptor Yoshio Yagi, the foundation is contributing to the formation of a modern vision for the city. The city authorities are seeking to implement an innovative approach to reconstruction, focusing on the revival of culture through the involvement of contemporary art from around the world.

Such activities are in line with global artistic practices, where sculptures and installations in public spaces become a powerful tool for social reflection, dialogue and attracting attention of the international community.

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