“The Walls” exploding

Dnipro Museum of Ukrainian Painting was founded in 2013. Today, it includes three floors of exhibition space, workshops, a museum lane, and a sculpture garden. The complex is located in Troitska Square opposite School No. 33, which educated the world-renowned Dnipro-born sculptor Vadim Sidur.

The core of the permanent collection is made up of over 3,000 works created by masters who lived in the 18th-20th centuries and worked in a wide range of genres, from contemporary enamel to classical Japanese engraving. The second and third floors of the museum are reserved for temporary exhibitions.

Matvii VAISBERG

It was precisely two rooms on the third floor where a solo exhibition of the Kyiv painter Matvii Vaisberg was launched on April 5. It is unique in that it simultaneously presents two most famous series of artist’s works, both entitled “The Wall”: one based on the Old Testament and another inspired by the author’s experience of the Euromaidan events. Dnipro, therefore, is the first city in Ukraine and in the world to put these two outstanding polyptychs side by side. The display also includes paintings from different periods of Vaisberg’s creative career; all in all, the collection provides the most complete impression possible of his work.

The museum was crowded on the day of the event. There were many art professionals among the public, but also many regular citizens of Dnipro. The Day gathered opinions and experiences of the exhibition’s visitors and the artist himself.

Oleh ROSTOVTSEV, a member of the Jewish community board, Dnipro:

“I think that we are capable of changing the world. And that what happens in these paintings, too, has changed all of us. May God make our world a kinder, brighter, more courageous, and more dignified place.”

Vladyslav SHERESHEVSKYI, an artist:

“I have seen these paintings before, many times and at the best venues, but it seems that this is where they look very organic. I am slightly inconvenienced by the crowds, but I suggest everyone to come to this exhibition over the month, on some quieter and crowdless day, spend some time alone with these paintings, and you will see many new and interesting things for yourself. I want to congratulate my friend Matvii on an excellent exhibition and the city of Dnipro on such a first-class Ukrainian painter coming here.”

Dmytro KORSUN, an art critic:

“I cannot stay apathetic while talking about the Maidan series, because Vaisberg went there, inside that smoke-filled space, and came back with the idea of a new work, and thus this impressive series developed. It seems to me to be as piercing as Francisco Goya’s paintings which depicted the horrors of war and reflected the artist’s civic feelings. All of this looks very organic because Vaisberg is an artist-sage who can illustrate the most convoluted turns of history and philosophy, and his soul is truly revealed here in Dnipro, in these rooms, and it may be even helped by the building’s incomplete repairs and gaping, unfinished walls. Vaisberg is present at a venue where a new world is being built, and I congratulate him and the city on this display. I have seen his paintings at many venues, but this is his best exhibition ever.”

Viktoria NIKITINA, the Artsvit Gallery:

“I am glad that Vaisberg brought this exhibition to Dnipro, since I have long wanted to see ‘The Wall.’ It has made a very strong impression on me, even three years after the Euromaidan. I think residents of Dnipro really need to see this kind of art, because his works are deeply touching in their color choice and subjects alike.”

Olena, a visitor:

“I like the Bible-inspired ‘The Wall’ series very much. While these paintings are perceived as sketches, they have a very strong emotional impact. With minimalist means, he maximizes expressiveness.”

Liudmyla TVERSKA, an art critic:

“I have already heard people supporting my view that Vaisberg is an artist-philosopher, artist-thinker. He raises eternal questions in his works, hence his invocations of the Bible and Euromaidan topics, and he treats the Euromaidan as a biblical story too. It alone forces one into serious and respectful attitude to his work. And speaking of formal issues, he is an excellent painter, one endowed with a sense of color which he uses to create mood. He is clearly an emotional person, and it is evident in his works precisely because of his coloristic choices. One can discuss his artistic achievements for a long time. I am very pleased that our museum lets such complex works to be exhibited, thus educating the viewer.”

Vsevolod SHARKO, an artist:

“I have three words to tell you: Vaisberg is excellent. I do not feel like I have anything to add.”

Andrii ZUBENKO, educator at Dnipro National University:

“The exhibition is wonderful and displays wonderful expression, which is only rarely seen in Dnipro. I want to describe the system behind many works as report-like: they seem to be as exciting as a footage tape which is unfolding frame-by-frame. This is what the exhibition taught us, and if Dnipro will see this approach used in the near future, it will be fine.”

Matvii VAISBERG:

“I feel greatly honored by the opportunity to exhibit at this venue. By the way, I did hold an exhibition in this city before, in 1998 when it was still known as Dnipropetrovsk. I am happy to meet again with this very important city, which is much closer to frontlines than Kyiv and great in all respects. I am very grateful to the museum. I know how hard it is to make an exhibition. For me, any display begins with a panic attack. However, when I came here, almost everything had been already arranged properly. All the people involved have shown amazing professionalism. Thank you very much. This lively response that I see here is always very necessary for an artist. Among other things, it is very important that ‘The Wall’ is touring Ukraine, as it was in Cherkasy, then Odesa, and has come to Dnipro now. I will tell it once again, I am terribly happy because of it.”

The exhibition will run till May 25.

The forthcoming issues of our newspaper will feature an interview with the founder of the Museum of Ukrainian Painting Oleh Naumov.