“Putin’s War,” a new exhibit of paintings by Waldek Dynerman exploring the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, opens Friday, May 26th at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, May 26th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Russia invaded Ukraine by land, sea and air on Feb. 24, 2022, the largest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called its actions “a special military operation,” while Ukraine and the West call the attack a malicious land grab.
Against the backdrop of the successive incursions mounted by Russian forces into Ukrainian state territory since 2014, the works presented in the exhibition – all of which were created within the past fifteen months – provide an evocative, emotional reflection of the drastically transformed life and turbulent spiritual landscape of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
About the Artist:
Born in Warsaw six years after WWII ended, Mr. Dynerman grew up absorbing the traumatic stories of his parents and developing great empathy for victims of war; conflicts has become one of the stalwarts of his work.
“When making art, these thoughts and feeling are always present, and may be expressed through brutal treatment of materials, fragmentation of the human form, or obfuscation of meaning.” Putin’s unprovoked aggression and the brutality of the Ukrainian war has triggered flashbacks to the many WWII stories he heard as a child” he says.
Mr. Dynerman has exhibited in dozens of group and one-person shows throughout the U.S. and Europe, including exhibitions at the Hawthorn Contemporary in Milwaukee, WI, the Fata Morgana project space, Berlin, Germany, and the Apteka Sztuki Gallery, Wasaw, Poland.
The exhibit can be seen Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12 noon to 4 p.m. or by appointment through June 24th. The Carl Cherry Center for the Arts is located on the northwest corner of Fourth and Guadalupe, Carmel.
Image: “New World Order” – Waldek Dynerman
