Ukrainian modern art and national identity

“The Caucuses (Geryusi)’’ (1915) (oil on canvas), by Oleksandr Bohomazov, in the show “The Juncture: Ukrainian Artists in Search of Modernity and Identity,’’ at the Mead Art Museum, at Amherst (Mass.) College, May 24-Oct. 13.

— Image courtesy of James Butterwick Gallery, London.

The museum says:

“This exhibition showcases the work of three leading modern artists from Ukraine who produced work during an astonishing period of the country’s cultural renaissance in the early 20th Century: Alexander Archipenko (1887–1964), Oleksandr Bohomazov (1880–1930), and Vasyl Yermilov (1894–1968). Modern and cosmopolitan by nature, their art also addresses the issues of national cultural identity at a time when their compatriots were trying to establish an independent Ukrainian state. The strikingly different fates of the three artists demonstrate the tectonic shifts and upheavals that their country underwent in the first half of the twentieth century. Their work—connected with Cubism, Futurism, Abstractionism, and Constructivism—reflects the stylistic diversity of the avant-garde landscape in Ukraine at that time. ‘‘

Separated, 'haunted' art in Amherst

“Ruins of the Supposed Temple of Hercules in the City of Cori (Rovine del Tempio supposto di Ercole nella cita di Cora)” (1769 etching), by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, (Italian, 1720-1778), in the show “Architectural Ghosts,’’ at the Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Mass., through June 25.

The show presents architectural drawings, sculptures and other subjects in the museum's collection. From 8th Century Assyrian reliefs to 20th Century Yoruba and Dogon doors, everything in this show has been "separated from their original architectural surroundings and cultural moments," bringing a "haunted" and "ghostly" sense to these works of art.