UIMA’S Video Collection

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is thrilled to announce our artist talk with Tom Torluemke. His solo exhibition Gravity, features paintings of landscapes and portraits and began this body of work in 2021 when he pursued landscapes as a focused theme, approaching it with more seriousness as our environment becomes more impacted by climate change year after year. To get some relief from the environment as subject matter and the isolation of the pandemic, Torluemke also began a series of portraits of friends and family, which revealed a connected between the two bodies of work: as the natural environment and social and civic unrest become more contentious, how can people help each other and the environment?

We'll be discussing the barriers marginalized artists faced and had to break through; the city's art scene; craft's increased attention, the importance of 'making a difference' to society, How are these issues connected to current art practices as makers, crafters and artisans? How are they different? This conversation was recorded Saturday, January 21st 2023.

The program is generously supported by the Terra Foundation Art Design Chicago.

AESTHETICS OF LOSS is a collection of work by seven artists (EBTI, CASSIDY EARLY, BRIANNA HERNÁNDEZ, LINDA MARCUS, JESSICA MEUNINCK GANGER, NIRMAL RAJA and ANDERS ZANICHKOWSKY) who have experienced loss of family members recently. Their studios became places for grieving and understanding the sudden vacuum of losing loved ones either suddenly or over a long period of illness. Caregiving, memory, helplessness, loss and the ultimate mystery of death are explored through painting, print-making, fibers, ceramics, photography, installation and video. Some artists utilize objects and clothing left behind by their loved ones and transform them into artworks and some use ritual and natural materials as memorial or commemorative actions of grieving and coming to terms.

FESTIVAL OF CAROLS…WE STAND WITH UKRAINE recorded on Sunday, December 11th at 1PM, at St. Nicholas Catholic Cathedral. Choral groups from four local ethnic groups, including Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, Croatian, and Ukrainian will participate in this holiday fundraising event that echoes all of our resounding support for Ukraine, its people, heroes, and leadership.

As voices echo in the magnificent, towering columns of St. Nicholas Cathedral, we pray for peace and harmony in Ukraine and around the world.

Proceeds were donated to Help Heroes of Ukraine and UMANA IL.

Curatorial conversation with Margot McMahon (Resist! curator and daughter of Franklin McMahon) and UIMA Curator Adrienne Kochman regarding the exhibit of acclaimed Chicago artist, Franklin McMahon’s fifty years of protest in vibrant drawings and paintings. This video was recorded January 28th, 2023 in the West Gallery.

This exhibition presents works by four Chicago artists with a focus on paintings. As the exhibition title suggests, the show's premise is about the artist's exploration of the layered emotional resonance of the concept of home. We have been living in a pandemic when most people have spent an unusually long time in their homes.Conversely, around the world, refugees have been forced to leave their homes, some with the hope of returning and others seeking a new life and home. We are asking the question; what does home mean? Is it a familiarity with the environment, or is home just an abstract place in our minds? The Artist Talk was moderated by Alexandra Senycia.

Tune in to learn about our exhibition "Wanting it Both Ways." Hear from featured artists Bill Corner, Tanya Hastings-Gill, Mid Kongo, and Jennifer Mannebach! This artist talk was recording at UIMA in the West Gallery on May 21, 2022

CHICAGO, IL—- The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is delighted to announce Naturally Artist Talk, recorded on March 12, 2022 featuring works by Judith Roston Freilich and Lilach Schrag who have come together for their first joint exhibition. Fascinated by forces of nature and mind, Judith Roston Freilich and Lilach Schrag examine, each in her own way, essence, energy, and evolution. Judith Roston Freilich’s works on paper and textiles were inspired by her aspirations to integrate the arts into everyday life. Throughout her life, Roston Freilich’s home and works have always centered around the cycles of life and the natural offerings of every season. The vital consequences of climate change and the COVID-19 virus have impacted the artist’s work, and aspires that her artistic creation will act as a springboard for awareness towards scientific ways that aim to heal our planet. With images and materials drawn from both her natural and domestic environment, Lilach Schrag uses organic found objects, fabric, paper, enamel, and acrylic paints, charcoal, graphite, threads, pins, and staples in making large-scale energy-packed paintings with epic figures and creatures transforming into each other and into vegetation. Layered, camouflaged, and not immediately identified, they convey a sense of awe, urgency, determination, and vulnerability. The natural materials rich with texture, meaning, and previous life sends Schrag on a fantastic flight, and at the same time keeping her grounded in this physical world.

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is pleased to present the virtual Artist talk for Rituals. On display between December 4th, 2021- January 30th, 2022, Rituals features works by artists Brenton Good, Mandy Cano-Villalobos, and Marissa Voytenko who have come together for their first joint exhibition. The present age has been defined by shirking customs, breaking traditions, and celebrating the informal. Yet it is through formal, practiced and ceremonial-like actions that contemporary artists Good, Cano-Villalobos, and Voytenko have found their expression. Though their work is varied in medium and approach, the three artists regard ritual as an integral part of their work

Michael Bociurkiw the author of "Digital Pandemic: How Technology Went From Bad to Good" (2021) delves into how technology acted as an accelerant for many of the trends that existed previous to Covid - from working from home and the mass adoption of wearable technology to disruptions to travel, food delivery, health consultations and relationships. Peppered with colorful, real life anecdotes, and written in real time, the book will offer a fresh understanding of one of the most consequential events of our time.

Music  is the language of the soul and voice of the heart The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago cordially invites you to  be part of our virtual Celebratory Concert in honor of Ukraine’s 30th Anniversary of Independence – a concert performed by young award-winning musicians.  It will premiere on Sunday, August 22 at 2:00 pm (CST), 3:00 pm (EST) and 10:00 pm (Kyiv). The introduction  to the concert is bilingual and the music that follows,  as American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stated,  “…..is the universal language of mankind.” 

З нагоди 30-ліття незалежності України, Український Інститут Модерного Мистецтва в Чикагозапрошує Вас на віртуальний концерт молодих музикантів лауреатів та дипломантів конкурсів. Концерт відбудеться в неділю 22-го серпня в 2:00-їй год. пол. (За центральним часом) 3:00-ій год. пол. (За східним часом) 10:00 год. веч. (За Києвським часом) Приєднуйтеся і слухайте чудове виконання української молоді. Молодь це наша гордість і надія!

In this informal artist talk, moderated by UIMA curator Dr. Adrienne Kochman, Postiglione and Shaw will use props, such as tools from their shared studio, to give the audience a glimpse into how their works are created and the concepts that fuel them. From what it’s like to share a studio space to the metaphorical meanings of their abstract works, the discussion will cover a breadth of topics and will also welcome questions from the audience. The works in Abstraction as Metaphor are not only about itself and the sheer formal optical experience uncomplicated by any outside issues. Postiglione and Shaw’s use of abstract imagery readily embraces issues such as themes of globalization and the resultant dynamics of societal, cultural, and environmental degradation. All of this metaphoric content is represented in the language of abstract art.

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is proud to present Work, People, Art in partnership with the Illinois State Museum. The exhibition features 38 paintings, prints, and photographs made under the Federal Art Project (FAP) from the Illinois State Museum’s permanent collection. Doug Stapleton, Associate Curator of Art, from the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, IL leads the Gallery Talk.

Moving Forward in a time of Change: Our New Relationship to the World We Live In is a juried member exhibition addressing newfound issues generated by the pandemic. The absence of human activity has created noticeable improvements from clearer skies, breathable air quality and less noise to increased movement of wildlife into human frequented areas. Works are sought relating to how these shifts have changed our relationship to the world we live in, such as our sense of space – open and contained, the passing of time, and the un- or over-availability of some materials.

Heorhii Narbut is the most important Ukrainian modernist graphic designer of the twentieth century. UIMA in partnership with Rodovid Press is proud to host an event, funded by the Ukrainian Culture Foundation of Kyiv, honoring Narbut's enduring artistic legacy. The event will consist of a screening of the film Brendari [Brand Makers] directed by Nadia Parfan and the presentation of a newly published book by Professor Myroslava M. Mudrak, entitled, The Imaginative World of Heorhii Narbut and the Making of a Ukrainian Brand. Both the film and the presentation will analyze Narbut’s graphic designs as they impacted Ukraine’s national and cultural identities and also defined the branding of a newly independent Ukraine in 1918 and now in 2020. The objective is to explore Narbut’s work, his creative and cultural legacy, how it impacts contemporary Ukraine’s brand and affects the world’s perception of Ukraine.

The external eye conversation with Yana Bystrova

In this curatorial conversation, listeners have the opportunity to gain access to the relationship and understanding that exists between an artist and a curator. UIMA curator Adrienne Kochman leads a conversation with artist Yana Bystrova, featured in External Eye. To learn more Bystrova’s practice, exclusives about her life in Paris, the drama of stolen art, and much more, click here for the full talk!

Learn More About External Eye Here
Artist Profile and Full Talk Here