WODEMAN, BORN IN 1975

Wodeman is the artistic name of Oleh Derevianko (b. 1975) — an  artist, author, and thinker whose work is rooted in metaphysical inquiry, symbolism, and emotional expression. 

 

After more than three decades at the forefront of Ukrainian business and civil society, he made a major shift in 2024 to focus on his artistic practice and on developing Contemporary Kyiv.

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Wodeman's engagement with the professional art scene dates back to the early 2000s, when he was active as a part-time curator and occasional collector. In 2001 he established Diia Art Promotion Foundation – a charity organization that supported Ukrainian artists and curators — now succeeded by the Contemporary Kyiv Foundation. Since the 1990s, Wodeman has also continuously studied and explored history and philosophy of art, as well as art as a practice and a way of living.      

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Working across oil, pastel, photography, digital, and mixed media, Wodeman creates series of artworks that reflect his artistic philosophy, articulated in his manifesto Principles of Modal Realism in Arts (2025). Poetry, prose, music, and contemplation are also indispensable parts of his artistic work.    

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Wodeman lives and works in Kyiv, when not traveling the world or retreating to his beloved countryside in rural Ukraine.