THE UKRAINIAN ARTIST IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIO-POLITICAL AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY (A CASE STUDY OF THE ARTISTIC PRACTICE OF OLHA KASHSHAI)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the paradigmatic changes in the artistic creativity of Ukrainian artists in the context of global shifts, using the work of Transcarpathian artist Olga Kashshai as an example. In particular, it traces her exhibition activity as an example of a contemporary Ukrainian artist’s artistic interpretation of the world before the war and after the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. Research methods. The work uses art history, comparative-analytical, biographical, and structural-semantic methods. Research results. The article examines the specifics of the author’s visualization of a number of themes that characterize her creative view of the world, analyzes individual works of art as examples of her attitude to regional artistic traditions, and reveals the reasons for the emergence of specific ideas embodied in the artist’s exhibition projects before and during the war. The study shows that Olga Kashshai’s artistic and exhibition activities are part of an artistic response to the evolutionary processes and transformational changes of the present day that are taking place in Ukrainian socio-political, cultural, and creative processes, in particular as a reaction to the war. At the same time, they are part of a broader cultural response aimed at understanding war and peace. Emphasis is placed on the ability of O. Kashshai’s art to shape an artistic reality that opposes war. Conclusions. Olga Kashshai’s creative and exhibition activities represent contemporary approaches to the cultural and artistic understanding of the world, in which artistic and socio-political phenomena lead to the transformation of worldview values. The peculiarities of the artist’s artistic thinking are revealed in the context of her deep understanding of the function of art and its role in wartime, which affects the visualization of impressions gained from observations of life. The artist’s active civic position and corresponding forms of personal artistic positioning, including in international presentations, are highlighted; the evolution of O. Kashshai’s organizational and cultural activities under the influence of socio-political circumstances as a conscious Ukrainian artist is emphasized.