Uplifting Ukrainian Art: ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ published to accompany the groundbreaking Royal Academy exhibition of the same name

How does artistic life flourish during revolution and conflict, and how do we protect a nation’s works from destruction in a war zone?

In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine attempts to answer that very question.
Against a complicated socio-political backdrop of collapsing empires, World War I, the revolutions of 1917 with the ensuing Ukrainian War of Independence, and the eventual creation of Soviet Ukraine, several strands of distinctly Ukrainian art emerged.

In the Eye of the Storm provides an in-depth examination of how the Ukranian identity evolved across a full range of media – from oil paintings, sketches and sculpture to collages, cinema posters and theatre designs – that reverberates into present day.

Alongside the vibrant works of art, twelve internationally renowned scholars, including curators from the National Art Museum of Ukraine, bring to life this astonishing period of creativity in Ukraine and all the movements it encompassed.

In The Eye of the Storm is available through the Royal Academy.

This illustrated volume serves as the catalogue to a special exhibition at the Royal Academy by the same name.

Against the backdrop of the current conflict, this exhibition showcases the ground-breaking Ukrainian art produced in the early 20th century and brings together 65 artworks, many of which are on loan from the National Art Museum of Ukraine and the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine.

In The Eye of the Storm runs until 13 October 2024, and the catalogue is available to purchase from the Royal Academy, both in their gift shop and online.

£10 of every purchase goes to the National Art Museum of Ukraine.

Buy your copy