Artem Volokitin

Artem Volokitin (b. 1981, Chuguiv) creates massive-scale oil paintings in response to years of intense violence and upheaval in his home country of Ukraine. After initially rising to prominence in the art world for Renaissance inspired figurative painting, Volokitin turned to focus on incredibly expansive images of explosions. A master of painting with light and shadow, Volokitin was the first winner of the Pinchuk Art Centre’s Main Prize in 2011,  launching his career and leading to a starring role at Ukraine’s Pavilion in the Venice Biennale in 2015.

Sonya: A Sunflower Project displays Volokitin’s Blick (2017), a painting nearly 6-feet in length which exemplifies the artist’s unique style. An explosion of light and color is loosely framed by striking gray ribbons - commentary, perhaps, on a collective cultural appreciation for displays of violence. This is the difficult contradiction at the core of Volokitin’s work: the cruel beauty of an explosion.

Blick is unique among the works at Sonya in that it was donated by BIRUCHIY CONTEMPORARY ART PROJECT, the largest and longest-running arts residency program in Ukraine. Since its founding in 2006, Biruchiy has hosted over 300 artists from 19 countries, including several artists included in Sonya, resulting in thousands of works created in Ukraine.

Since February 24, 2022, the art residency’s home of Byriuchyi Island has been occupied by Russian forces. Many in the territory fled to save their lives, but most of the residency’s buildings and the homes of those who worked there were destroyed. BIRUCHIY’s expansive art collection was stored primarily in villages near the ravaged cities of Bucha and Irpin - miraculously, many of the works were saved. Blick, a gift to the foundation from Volokitin, is among the largest of those works. 

In spite of all the destruction, BIRUCHIY continues to operate its residency program, relocating to Ukraine’s Zakarpattia mountains, and to the other countries, until it becomes possible to return home. 

Proceeds from the sale of Blick will be split evenly between Sunflower Network’s efforts in Ukraine and BIRUCHIY’s attempts to rebuild their program.