Portrait of A Village, Ukraine – Photographs by Lida Suchy

January 28, 2023 to March 11, 2023

For the past 9 years, Ukraine has been represented by images of conflict, destruction, and carnage, brought about by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

As a first-generation American and daughter of Ukrainian refugees, Lida Suchy draws on her background as a resource and inspiration for her creative work. For nearly 30 years she has been photographing in the Ukrainian village, Kryvorivnya, creating a composite portrait of this rural community.

In this exhibition, Lida presents us with images that can help viewers to connect with Ukraine beyond the news headlines. In her statement Lida dedicates this exhibition, “…to the people of Ukraine, all those who stand in support of a free Ukraine, and to the memory of 27-year-old Artem Dymyd, who — брав від життя все і сам був життям — ‘lived life to its fullest.’ He is one of thousands of beautiful young people giving their lives to defend their country and our freedom.”

Prints of these three images will be available at ArtRage for $100 each during the exhibition.
 Archival Pigment Print, Hahnemuhle Fiber Matt Fine Art Paper
Signed (Open Edition)
Image size 8.5 x 6.8” on paper size 10 x 7” 
25% of proceeds from the sales will be donated to Razom for Ukraine.
Razom is providing critical humanitarian war relief and recovery to address the most urgent needs in Ukraine as they evolve.
Learn more or donate directly at razomforukraine.org

On view during the exhibition:

Pictograph, 21 min. Directed by Mišo Suchý www.vimeo.com/194305718

Photographs by Lida & Mišo Suchý, with color drawings by Paraska Plitka-Horytsvit
Vignettes of life in the village Kryvorivnya in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, where once the novel Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors was written and later filmed and where, to this day, the passage of time has its own pace.

A LETTER FROM THE ARTIST

Dear Friends, Neighbors, ArtRage Community,

Thank you for having the exhibition, Portrait of a Village, and related events, Ukraine Beyond the Headlines, at Art Rage. Thanks for all your support, it has been hugely appreciated!

Many of you have asked about the people in the portraits of village elders in the exhibition. When Lida photographed Evdosia Sorochan, she asked to be photographed in a replica of her prisoner’s garb to prevent the loss of memory of her imprisonment in Soviet Gulags, where she was forced to sort uranium ore with her bare hands. You can listen to her singing in the short film PICTOGRAPH. Vasil Potjak, the man with the binoculars, never had an opportunity to study beyond grammar school, but all his grandchildren have earned university degrees. Paraska Plytka Horytsvit, Kryvorivnya’s best known artist, has been a great inspiration. Several years ago, an archive of her negatives was found and restored, and recently a museum dedicated to her work opened in the village. Please read Paraska’s story here: Paraska Plytka Horytsvit: Ukrainian Vivian Maier. Meet Paraska, Vasyl, and Evdosia virtually in the short film PICTOGRAPHmade from our 35mm photographs and Paraska’s drawings. 

The village Kryvorivnya in the Carpathian Mountains is the place where the novel Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, based on Hutsul mythology, was written, and later filmed. It is available on DVD or online Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors or via Amazon Video.     

Thanks for coming to view the film The Earth is Blue as an Orange by poet, writer, and filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk. Filmed on the front lines of war-torn Eastern Ukraine in a world full of bombs and chaos, a single mother, Anna, and her four children transform trauma into a work of art as the ultimate way to stay human. The Earth is Blue as an Orange is available on several online platforms i.e. Criterion , Amazon Video , Kanopy and others. In 2020, Tsilyk’s documentary won the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Thank you Prof. Patricia Burak for sharing your insights into Ukrainian literature and into the complexities of the post-Soviet era. 

Yale historian Marci Shore, author of The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution recommends these books on the land of many identities and languages that is modern Ukraine. Professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, Serhii Plokhy, recommends these books to better understand the conflict. The seminal work Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by historian Timothy Snyder, connects history and helps to contextualize the current situation; so does the film Mr. Jones by Agnieszka Holland (available on Amazon Video) and the book Red Famine by Anne Applebaum. As we seek to understand what is happening, why it’s happening, and what is at stake, who better to turn to than Ukrainians themselves? Please see: Through whose eyes? 

Thank you again for your interest, inquiries, and support. We hope that the links above will be of aid in the exploration of Ukrainian culture and in the contextualization of Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

This exhibition is dedicated to the people of Ukraine, all those who stand in support of a free Ukraine, and to the memory of 27-year-old Artem Dymyd, who брав від життя все і сам був життям, “lived life to its fullest.” He is one of thousands of beautiful young people giving their lives to defend their country and our freedom.

Thank you 🌻 

Lida and Mišo Suchy

SUSTAINING SPONSORS: Walter Putter & Marilyn Smith

Exhibition Sponsors:
Mary Bronner, Mary Czelusniak, Diane Grafly & Paul Pearce, Barbara & Barry Gordon,
Mike Greenlar & Linda Bogart-Greenlar, David & Noel Keith,
Peter Lemonides, Donna & Phil Muhs-McCarten, Leon & Rosemary Oaks-Lee,
Katherine & Craig Polhamus, Nancy Keefe Rhodes, Alan Rosenthal, Lisa & Timur Saka,
Alexandra Schwartz, Carmen Viviano-Crafts, and Rosemary Welch & Craig Schlanger

Season Sponsors:
Bruce & Kathy Coville, Annemarie Deegan, Chris Flynn,
Edgewood Gallery, Julia Ganson, Laurie Gilmore Selleck, Sam Gruber, Mary Kuhn,
Joe Marusa & Beth Drew, Jeremy McKay, Lauren & Walter Melnikow, Diane Murphy,
Lleni Pach, George Savage, Ellen Schwartz, Vince Sgambati, Sharye Skinner,
Dana Sovocool & Brian Gruninger, Ann Tiffany & Ed Kinane, Ron VanNorstrand,
Shaila Wood & Ramesh Gaonkar, and Amy Zamkoff

Special Benefactors:
Anonymous, Bousquet Holstein, PLLC, CNY Arts,
The Dorothy & Marshall M. Reisman Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts,
Anonymous, Donald Blair & Nancy Dock, Caroline Cargo, Therese A. Deegan,
Sandra Hurd & Joel Potash, Ann Jamison, Anthony Malavenda & Martine Burat,
Nancy & Bruce McCoy, Shirley & Larry Novak, Robert Sarason & Jane Burkhead,
Mary Stanley, Sarah Stuart-Macllvain, and Susan Wadley & Rick Olanoff