All four Ukrainian artists, part of this exhibition, Volodymyr Makarenko, Anton Solomoukha, Volodymyr Strelnikov and Vitaly Sazonov, gained recognition in the 1970s as young artists at that time in the USSR.

Living behind the “Iron Curtain” of the Soviet censorship they were dreaming of escaping to the West.

After receiving academical training in “Social Realism” of Soviet Union at the best art Academies, they decided, out of principle, not to paint Soviet revolutionary themes and glorified images of Communist leaders and workers. Instead, the artists were creating paintings, figurative and abstract, that were full of what ‘Free World’ looked like to them: beauty of female nude, pastiche to Renaissance compositions, surrealistic Duchampian mise-en-scènes and color blocks of Rothko. See the full artbook here. The exhibition was held at Ukraine House in January and February 2026.