#5 Hot Coffee with an Artist

Series of conversations by Nina Mdivani

A cup of coffee with Kyiv-based Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai

I’ve heard about Oleksiy Sai and the important ongoing exhibition he is part of from a colleague curator and researcher Inga Lāce who was also involved into organizing “Hi-Resolution: Ukrainian Culture and Contemporary Art Now!” I met Oleksiy at Le Colombe, a popular coffee spot in Chelsea. It is always surreal to have a conversation about the Ukrainian tragedy, loss of lives, destruction of cultural heritage when life goes on as usual in nonchalant New York way. People pursuing their self-interests and aspirations far away from bombed cities and families who are forever destroyed. We do not even understand how lucky we are not to be there and not to fear for the safety of the loved ones on minute-by-minute basis. It is even more crucial to have public attention turned to discuss this humanitarian emergency through art and culture, to try to touch the humans across space and time.

Nina Mdivani: Oleksiy, imagine you are in your favorite coffee or tea spot. Where is it?  What are you drinking? What are the three things you see right now?

Oleksiy Sai: I think I’m having coffee at home, on my balcony in Kyiv. I see the sky, my balcony, and everything else around me – a familiar picture. We are so tied to our homes now. I used to love travelling, but now I don’t know if I like it anymore. We are changing unpredictably. We ourselves are often surprised at those changes.

NM: I know you are part of the group show “Hi-Resolution: Ukrainian Culture and Contemporary Art Now!” on view at James Gallery CUNY Graduate Center, New York. Can you please tell me more about this show, its participants and the concept?

OS: This is an exhibition built from video-projections. Scans of the physical artworks of 38 renowned Ukrainian Contemporary artists (1980-2022) are video projected on the walls. The only physical objects are the posters, created against the Russian Aggressions. We have selected 38 artists that are important to Ukrainian contemporary art. The first half of the exhibition is grouped around several moments in time – the beginning of our independence in 1991, the moments of the revolutions in 2004 and 2014, and the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2014. The other half of the exhibition is created from the most current art-works that our artists have done starting from the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. We chose to have video-projection of art-works rather than physical art-works to highlight the very feeling of simultaneous absence and presence during these days. 

“Conjuring the artworks as projections offers experience where art-works are simultaneously present and absent, highlighting the liminal space between existence and loss during the ongoing war. The viewers cast shadows as they walk amidst the works, and in turn become aware of their own bodily presence, becoming part of a conversation to reflect on the continuing persistence of Ukrainian culture in the face of efforts to silence and eliminate it over centuries.”

We also wanted to create an environment that will allow viewers to become a part of the conversation, rather than observe what Contemporary Ukrainian art is. That is where the idea of “shadows” also came from. Covering the art-work with your own shadow, trying to find a spot for yourself or having light-strikes in the eyes, becomes part of the experience. It was very important for us to create a space of dialog and active participation, rather than observation: you may not see the art-work behind your own shadow, but by making a step, doing something actively you can open the art and be able to see it, because we all are living through this time together.

NM: As Ukraine bravely continues to fight Russia, where do you see the function of art in this fight?

OS: To draw attention to Ukraine. Not just to our war – we need a place both on the world map and in the minds of people. We need to reclaim our status as a country and our status as a culture. We are no longer “somewhere in the post-Soviet space” or “part of Russia or somewhere close to it” – we need to be recognized. This is an important part of our struggle. This can help us to hold the border with the barbarians as much as the weapons. That way we can protect not only ourselves – but the freedom of the whole world.

NM: How do you relate to the pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet traditions within contemporary Ukrainian art? Do you feel that Ukraine has developed its own unique and separate artistic identity as a country?

OS: Nothing arises out of nowhere, of course. When we look to the past – we choose what to look at. Both our knowledge of history and our knowledge of art history allow us to choose what to look at in the past. Pre-Soviet and post-Soviet art is important now – we can change the future without changing the past, but you have to know the past in every aspect. The Soviet historiography, and the post-Soviet view of history, was distorted. Now it is important for us to show the world our history, and it is just as important to show it to ourselves.

NM: In the overwhelming daily experience of fighting the invasion, how and where do you find strength to continue practicing as an artist?

OS: I feel an obligation. I am at war, though I envy those who fight with guns.

Hot Coffee with an Artist:

In these short conversations Nina Mdivani, Tbilisi-born and New York-based writer, curator and gallerist touches on topics of importance for the artists she encounters across the globe. They discuss coffee places, upcoming shows as well as what’s the crux of their artistic processes.