Voloshyn Gallery: From Kyiv to the world

On February 24, the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine ushered in a new era. As German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock put it, we all woke up in a different world. The Ukrainian gallerists Max and Julia Voloshyn didn't experience that February morning in their own apartment in Kyiv. The two were in Miami, where they were working on a pop-up exhibition after their participation in Art Basel. While they were making the final preparations, their gallery in the Ukrainian capital turned into a bunker. Gallery staff, friends, and strangers found shelter in the rooms.

Located in the middle of the historic city center, the Voloshyn gallery was founded in 2016 and subsequently became one of the most significant addresses for contemporary Ukrainian art. Through numerous participations in fairs, the Voloshyns also made a name for themselves internationally. Anyone interested in young talent from Kyiv and the surrounding area was in the right place at their gallery.

To this day, the couple has not been able to return to their home.

For the last few months they have been working abroad, traveling from exhibition to exhibition, giving interviews and campaigning for Ukrainian independence. We reach them in Miami, where, after months of nomadic work, they are preparing for ART COLOGNE.

“Our home is in Kyiv, but we can't go back to Ukraine,” the pair say. On October 10, Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital’s historic center yet again. Miraculously, the Voloshyns tell us, their team and loved ones were unharmed, and the gallery space unscathed.

“We don't know what will be in a month. We can plan only for a few weeks or even days," they say. “We try to keep moving and convert all of our energy into our work.”

And the couple has plenty to do. The last few months have not just been mentally challenging. The Voloshyns have taken part in seven fairs this year, including the Armory Show in New York and viennacontemporary in the Austrian capital. They never tire of advocating for the visibility of artists from Ukrainian artists.

"The art scene is another front where we are fighting,” they declare. “Ukraine has a strong artistic voice, and for this reason, our mission is to keep moving. We want to make this voice be heard and welcomed in the world community.”

In October, they opened a new show in Dallas in collaboration with the Dallas Art Fair Projects. Multimedia artist Nikita Kadan and painter Lesia Khomenko, together with colleagues, presented new works there that deal with the war, which violates international law, and its consequences in images.