art during war

svitlo gallery | lviv | ukraine 2022

In June 2022, Svitlo Gallery in Lviv hosted Art During War, an experimental project by artist Anton Tkachenko. Conceived as a process-based exhibition, the project unfolded in real time and was shaped in the presence of its audience. Over the course of five days, the artist not only worked on the exhibition but also lived in the gallery space, turning it into a temporary home, studio, and place for dialogue.

This was the first experience of such a format for both the artist and the gallery. The exhibition had no fixed or final form; instead, it transformed day by day, reflecting the artist’s ongoing reflections on the reality of war. Visitors were welcome to enter the space at any moment — to observe the creative process, share tea, and engage in conversations ranging from everyday matters to deeper questions. In the evenings, thematic meetings and discussions took place.

Within the project, Anton Tkachenko sought answers to fundamental questions: what is art during wartime, does it have the right to exist, and how does the meaning of home change under conditions of loss and displacement? The central theme of the exhibition was the notion of home — not as a physical location, but as a space of memory, experience, and inner belonging. For the artist, home is the place where one grew up, rather than simply where one lives now.

The exhibition consisted of several series of works: floor plans of the homes the artist lived in while in Kharkiv; landscapes depicting neighborhoods and places significant to his personal history; and a work dedicated to the country as a whole. Each series is rooted in personal stories and memories, forming an intimate map of loss and search.

Despite the difficult context, the exhibition was not about despair. On the contrary, it was filled with light, with yellow and blue colors, and with a sense of resilience and vitality. As the artist noted:
“This exhibition is not sad, it is joyful. There is yellow and blue here. It seems these are our favorite colors right now.”

Art During War became not only an exhibition, but a living space of shared presence — where art functioned as a way to speak, to listen, and to be together, even in the most challenging circumstances.