sugar - free

Titled “SUGAR-FREE” and curated by Tamara Lee, a renowned Ukrainian and international art curator, the exhibition ran from December 12, 2024 till January 21, 2025 in Mriya Gallery, located in New York’s Tribeca district. It featured Ukrainian contemporary artists and American artists of Ukrainian origin who live and work on both sides of the ocean — in the USA and Ukraine.

Sugar, glucose, energy, nourishment, pleasure, desire, joy, beauty, art, sweetness…freedom.

Humans are evolutionarily hardwired to love art,  which has historically been a vital source of inspiration and emotional nourishment for the human spirit. Yet, in today’s world, art has also become commodified and overconsumed, leading to superficial engagement that detracts from its true essence.

We wanted visitors to reconsider their relationship with creativity and expression. For this exhibition, Tamara Lee has invited Ukrainian artists of four different generations, representing diverse styles and ideas but united by their deep thinking and feeling about art.

Each piece in the exhibition was thoughtfully chosen by curators to reflect the richness of human experience without relying on the sugar-coating of sensationalism or superficial appeal.

Exploring the timeless themes of emotions, identity, and connection, these works reminded us that, like a balanced diet, a rich and fulfilling engagement with art can nourish the mind and spirit without succumbing to the pitfalls of overindulgence, as we can:

•     slow down time…

•     see a painted canvas-reality… In a post-truth world, where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish what is real, this is invaluable.

More than three hundred people gathered for the opening: here are a couple of videos taken before it became crowded for a better view of how the works were exhibited.

Three of my works from the Meditations From the Roads series were on display and I'm very glad about it and thankful to the curator and the gallery.

Here's the full list of artists who participated with brief bios from press release. It's an honor to have exhibited alongside such great and renowned artists.

Volodymyr Bovkun (b.1951) – A renowned Ukrainian artist, Bovkun is a master of painting, graphics, sculpture, and monumental art. After years of successful practice in each of these disciplines, Bovkun chose oil painting as his primary medium in the early 1990s. In his work, he combines elements of abstraction, surrealism, and conceptualism. He invites the viewer to engage with  the spatial depths of his work, where characters and concepts interact in a dynamic interplay of time and space. Architecture, sculptural elements, painting, and graphics coexist harmoniously in his creations, reflecting his preference for working on the boundaries of genres rather than being confined to a single artistic category. Bovkun has been exhibiting his work since 1977. During the 1980s, even under Soviet rule, he exhibited in France and the USA. After Ukraine's independence, his art gained recognition worldwide. His works are part of prestigious collections, including the National Museum of Fine Arts of Ukraine, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Norton Dodge Collection, and various private collections across Ukraine, France, Germany, the USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Singapore, Russia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Israel, and beyond. Based in Kyiv, Volodymyr Bovkun continues to work prolifically, creating art of exceptional expression.

Lina Condes (b. 1988) - contemporary American - Ukrainian artist known for her stick figure sculptures, created using common industrial stainless steel, fiberglass wood and stone, through which she seeks to authentically represent the emotional and mental lives of modern people. Lina took part in numerous group and solo exhibitions in NYC and in Europe, including Art Miami and Biennale di Venezia, and her works are in collections of Carl Icahn, David E Shaw sculptural park at Portland Museum, Bruce Beal sr, Weinbrum family, Patti and Stanley Silver’s, Robert B. Emden, Jeff Klein, Tisch Family, Gantchers family and others. In this show Lina takes part with her ceramic works that employ familiar objects to convey universal messages about our contemporary culture. The series Three Thousand Years showcases a firing technique used by the artist to create the imprint of objects. Lina selected these objects to represent what she believes are the basic elements of humanity.

Hanna Kryvolap (b. 1977) - Ukrainian painter known for her work in non-figurative expressionism. Hanna’s paintings have always been sensual, poetic, and, at the same time, imbued with a sense of mystery and vibrant color. Hanna had personal exhibitions in Germany, USA, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, the Netherlands, and France, and has participated in many group national and international shows, plein airs, and art projects. Hanna’s works are in collections of the Museum of Modern Art of Ukraine (Kyiv), Zaporizhzhia National Art Museum, Museum of Young Art (MOYA, Vienna, Austria), and numerous private collections in Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, Norway, and USA. Hanna lives and works in Kyiv.

Petro Lebedynets (b. 1956) – a notable figure among Ukraine's contemporary non-figurative painters, a wizard of color, Lebedynets approaches each painting as though composing a timeless symphony, meticulously crafting its musical framework and architectural composition with exceptional precision and sensitivity. His works resonate with a distinctly musical duality — an interplay of opposing forces, thematic progression, climactic codas, and dynamic resolutions that unfold with striking impact. They evoke the sensation of a world reimagined through the lens of art —a vivid landscape revived with renewed clarity and vitality, as if reborn after the cleansing power of a storm. National Fine Arts Museum of Ukraine,  Museum of History of Art in Vienna, National Museum “Kyiv Picture Gallery”, The Ukrainian Museum in New York are among many institutions and galleries that have Petro’s works in their collections as well as private collectors from Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, USA, France, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Ukraine.

Phil Lee (b. 1981) - Ukrainian contemporary artist living and working in the United States since 2010. Renowned director, cinematographer. The aesthetics of minimalism distinguishes his art. His work is characterized by experiments in creating picture forms. It combines musical improvisations and contemporary style.

Marianna G (b. 1984) - Ukrainian artist whose works often depict people surrounded by an endless array of urban life attributes: technical devices, elements of architecture, and design. The objects surrounding various individuals convey their character and even their hidden thoughts. According to the artist, creativity is, for her, the best way to explore the question of conscious choice in the context of an oversaturated information space. Since 2006 Marianna took part in various group exhibitions in Ukraine, Italy, China, and USA. She lives and works in Kyiv.

Arsen Savadov (b. 1962) – a key figure of the New Ukrainian Wave, Savadov was a member of the Kyiv artistic group "Paris Commune" and, in the late 1980s to mid 1990s, became one of the most active representatives of the Ukrainian trans-avant-garde. The renowned work "Cleopatra's Sorrow", created by Arsen Savadov in collaboration with Heorhiy Senchenko in 1987, is considered a milestone marking a new era in Ukrainian art. In the 1990s, Savadov focused primarily on photography and video before returning to painting in recent years. A versatile artist, he has also explored installations and performances. Savadov has held solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group shows in Ukraine and internationally, with notable appearances in New York, London, Vienna, and Paris. Savadov represented Ukraine at the 49th Venice Biennale. Many of his works are in museum collections such as the Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (France), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris, France), Musée d'Art Contemporain (Bordeaux, France), Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden), the Museum of Modern Art (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Norton Dodge Collection, PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine), the Modern Art Museum (Kyiv, Ukraine), and the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (Oslo, Norway), as well as numerous private collections worldwide. Arsen Savadov lives and works in Kyiv and New York.

Andriy Sydorenko (b. 1983) – Ukrainian artist, curator, and researcher. Since the 2010s, he has been combining artistic creativity with scientific work and the organization of exhibitions. His works are regularly exhibited in leading international institutions, in particular, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (Curitiba, Brazil), the Künstlerhaus (Vienna, Austria), the Ukrainian Institute of Contemporary Art (Chicago, USA), the Wilson Center (Washington, USA), the Ukrainian Museum (New York, USA). Most of Andriy Sydorenko's works of art draw the viewer into the atmosphere of dystopia. One of the central objects of his work is the image of a society in which people have become hostages of false ideological experiments. Andriy lives and works in Kyiv.

Anna Valieva (b. 1984) - Ukrainian artist based in the United States whose paintings have been exhibited in both nations, as well as in Switzerland. She describes her artistic practice as being marked by experimentation. Creating in themed series, Valieva's striking compositions explore concepts such as "memories of the future", conveying the traditions and the memories of our ancestors and the passage of time.  

Wodeman (b. 1975) – Ukrainian contemporary artist, philosopher, and civil activist. Primarily working in painting, digital media, and mixed techniques, Wodeman explores color harmonies, the symbolism of objects, forms, phenomena, and ideas, and the connections between them. Wodeman’s journey as an artist has been quite extraordinary. He has been engaged in the arts since the late 1990s, driven by love for artistic expression rather than the pursuit of a traditional career. In the 2000s, he co-organized several landmark exhibitions that introduced Ukrainian contemporary art to a global audience. Having studied and collaborated privately with some of the finest artists, Wodeman has conducted numerous creative projects and experiments over the past two decades. Born in a small town in the forest-rich northern region of Ukraine, Wodeman (whose Ukrainian surname literally means "wooden") has resided permanently in Kyiv since 1992, when not traveling the world or retreating to his beloved countryside.

About MRIYA gallery in their own words:

MRIYA is the first Ukrainian art gallery in NYC. At Mriya Gallery, our mission is to showcase and celebrate the rich tapestry of Ukrainian art, artists, and culture in the vibrant landscape of New York City. We are dedicated to fostering appreciation for Ukrainian artistic expression and providing a platform for talented Ukrainian artists to reach a global audience

To explore the exhibition in greater detail, download the PDF presentation:

To explore the exhibition in greater detail, download the PDF presentation:

Sugar-Free_NYC_Dec2024-Jan2025.pdf

Download PDF • 13.54MB

For more information about Tamara Lee, the curator of Transcendence: Artists of Ukraine, download her CV:

Tamara_Li_CV_2019.pdf

Download PDF • 3.03MB