Visiting one’s own Minotaur

The exhibition, entitled “Minotaur Quest,” has brought together paintings and installations by the artist who created them for the past year and a half. Assistant curator of the Ya Gallery Kateryna Nosko said: “The overarching idea of the project is not tied to mythology, even though the Minotaur is the main character and a certain reference point. There is an installation which represents Ariadne as well. However, if the myth had one clue, there are many of them here. The labyrinth stands less for fighting the Minotaur, and more for an attempt to contact him and overcome oneself, get rid of one’s own unconscious fears and go on. This is a kind of art therapy.”

A Blind Man, Good Morning, People! and Battle – these paintings by Korol have myth interwoven with reality, as inscriptions “love,” “hate,” and “darkness” on the artworks serve as clues on the artistic quest. The project is seen as highly relevant for today’s Ukraine, although the work on the “Minotaur Quest” started before the Euromaidan and the eastern Ukrainian conflict. Korol admitted: “My works are not here to scare anyone, as I only recognize the problems that have always existed. I am interested in people, the best research subject ever. I have intentionally avoided the topic of fears, just painted these works, and then the image of the Minotaur occurred to me, bringing all the stories together.”

A Manager painting shows a formidable rider disappearing in the fog with a dog beside him. For the artist, this rider, looking down at the viewer, represents fate. “My works pose questions, but I offer no answers,” Korol stressed. “I am not interested in definite works that prove or refute something. It is better for the audience to determine for themselves what they see.”

Good Morning, People! pictures verbal aggression. According to Nosko, this work can be related to the philosophy of Buddhism. “The sun rises, and it does not care what humans think about it, we are just a trifling matter for it. All social problems are for people themselves to resolve. By the way, the artist accepts that the audience may reject his works, but goes on to create images obviously discordant with the quiet life of a philistine,” Nosko commented.

However, the audience knows and accepts Korol. The Ya Gallery has collaborated with the artist for five years, and they implement joint projects in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk, the hometown of the artist. “Respect for the audience combined with visual arrogance make up Korol’s very own manner,” founder of the Ya Gallery Pavlo Hudimov emphasized. “This is the modern naive art, the urban art. The artist communicates with the audience in a language which is comfortable to him, without making adjustments for the audience. Many works here look expressionist. In response, the subcultural youth sees the artist very positively, as one of ‘their own,’ because he employs modern language.”

The “Minotaur Quest” project will be on display till November 3.