installation view of “Dernier Poème”
Kateryna Aliinyk, Michael Ayrton, Yevgenia Belorusets, Arthur Degner, Yaroslav Futymsky, Hans Grundig, Nikita Kadan, Dana Kavelina & Olha Marusyn, Georgies Kotsonis, Yuri Leiderman, Kateryna Lysovenko, M. Marizza, Ján Mudroch, Tetiana Nylivna Yablonska, Margaryta Polovynko, Anton Saienko and Ilya Todurkin
curated by Nikita Kadan
The title of the exhibition refers to the last poem mistakenly attributed to Robert Desnos, a French surrealist poet and member of the Resistance who died a month after his release from the Terezín Concentration Camp.
As part of the Biennial Matter of Art 2024, Ukrainian artist Nikita Kadan creates a curatorial intervention within the permanent exhibition of the Lidice Art Collection. Lidice is a site marked by extreme violence, yet it also embodies international anti-fascist solidarity. The exhibition features artworks from the collection and pieces by Ukrainian artists grappling with the realities of Russia’s war against Ukraine. These works express mourning for the deceased, the destruction of the country, and the loss of cultural heritage. Violence leaves deep imprints on our subconscious, influencing our thoughts, creative expressions, and dreams, while eroding the lines between reality and the subconscious.
Kadan is particularly interested in how media and visual culture interpret and portray history. He examines the placement of monuments, the messages conveyed by these monuments and images, and whether statues can narrate stories of crimes. His recent work incorporates materials destroyed by Russian bombs that were once part of fences, roofs, or walls. Through his sculptures, he documents the Russian war, capturing the tension between the horrors of conflict and the peaceful life in Europe, intertwining themes of vulnerability with strength and complicity with resistance. Kadan weaves elements from his wartime dreams in his creations, further blurring the dividing line between the real and the unconscious.
Nikita Kadan (b. 1982) is a Ukrainian artist who lives in Kyiv. He works with dark and complex stories derived from our history. In his practice, he highlights how historical violence influences our presence. He has followed Russia's war against Ukraine, from the illegal annexation of Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014 to the full-scale invasion eight years later. He explores themes of war, destruction, and collective trauma. He organizes exhibitions and works with art collections, such as the Soviet art collection in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he combines historical and contemporary works.
The Biennial is organized by the tranzit.cz initiative in cooperation with the National Gallery Prague and the Lidice Art Collection.
installation views of “Dernier Poème”
