UKRAINIAN NEOEXPRESSIONISM: THE ORIGINS OF THE MOVEMENT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRANSAVANTGARDE

Abstract

The Ukrainian ”Non-official Art” that emerged in the harsh atmosphere of Soviet totalitarianism requires careful study. The purpose of this study is to explore the origins of «Ukrainian neoexpressionism» as an integral part of the world transavantgarde, to present it under this name as an original variant alongside other national versions of the new expression, and to establish its ontological difference from the well-known phenomenon of the «Ukrainian Transavantgarde». Specific methods were used to achieve the aim of the study: the method of logical analysis allowed us to trace and state that the term «transavantgarde» is a definition of the Italian version of neo-expressionism, which, thanks to A. B. Oliva, was extended to the entire artistic movement. It has also been established that the techniques of expressionism (the use of color, deformation of the object and space, manipulation of the figure, the use of non-specific image technologies) were widely used in the art of the second half of the twentieth century, which is reflected in such artistic phenomena as “Abstract Expressionism’’, ”Informel”, and “Neoexpressionism”. Using the historical and cultural method, it was determined that ”Expressionism” was one of the three leading movements (along with cubism and futurism) in European art of the 1920s and 1930s, but it was most popular in artistic circles in Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, and other Eastern European countries. The genesis of expressionism in the Polish tradition, which had a powerful influence on Ukrainian modernist art, was also considered. Using the inductive method, it was found that the traditions of expressionism were preserved by Ukrainian artists and passed on to the next generations under the rule of Soviet totalitarianism. Using the method of critical and comparative analysis, it was found that the concept of ”Ukrainian Transavantgarde” was introduced by Russian art historians to the works of Ukrainian creative youth who represented the ”new wave”, but in no way touches the phenomenon of Ukrainian neoexpressionism. Results. Thus, the study resulted in the following statements: it is advisable to introduce the concept of ”Ukrainian Neoеxpressionism” into the lore, which denotes a phenomenon formed within the framework of forbidden art, genetically related to the modernist artistic traditions of the first half of the twentieth century, in particular expressionism. The actual confirmation of this process is the continuity of the achievements of the members of the ”artes” (1929–1935) and ANUM (1931–1939) associations by the artists of the ”Way” art group (1989–1992). A distinction should be made between the phenomena of Ukrainian neoexpressionism, realized in the conditions of forbidden art thanks to the national modernist experience, and the ”Ukrainian Transavantgarde”, which emerged under the influence of Russian art criticism and the authority of the apologist of the world transavantgarde A. B. Olivi, focusing on foreign commercialized examples of this artistic movement. Conclusions. Ukrainian neoеxpressionism requires careful study, as it emerged and was formed under conditions of ideological oppression, which is why it was not studied by specialists, and the artists' works are mostly in the possession of foreign collectors. In addition, the Ukrainian new expression has regional peculiarities. A study of the ontological difference between the phenomena of «Ukrainian neoеxpressionism» and «Ukrainian transavantgarde» is planned for the near future.