London’s Saatchi Gallery cancels Russian-organised exhibition of Ukrainian art after backlash
The Saatchi Gallery in London has scrapped an exhibition of Ukrainian art after much backlash concerning the fact it had been organised by Igor Tsukanov, the Russian art collector and banker, while his compatriot Marat Guelman had joined as a consultant.
The show, titled The Ukrainian Way, was planning to showcase 100 Ukrainian artists from September 3rd to the 11th and was to be complimented by auction. All proceeds were to go to charities supporting the Ukrainian arts, including the Art for Victory Fund and the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund.
The Saatchi Gallery released a statement: “Saatchi Gallery was not the organiser or curator of The Ukrainian Way, nor was it involved in any direct communication with the artists or collectors. We received assurances from [Ukrainian] stakeholders that the project was one they fully supported”.
The statement added, “Once it became apparent that support from a number of these key parties had been withdrawn, along with the reports of concerns raised by artists in recent days, Saatchi Gallery immediately took the decision to cancel the ten-day exhibition and withdraw its support from the project.”
After the announcements for the show were made, many Ukrainian artists and curators condemned the exhibition as an example of Russian cultural colonisation and merely an effort of the Russian organisers to wipe their hands clean of any wrongdoing. The artists and curators also noted that the show had been organised without their consent.
Art critic and curator Olha Sahadiak, who petitioned for the exhibition to be cancelled, wrote on Facebook: “Copyright? No, they haven’t heard about it. The organisers of the exhibition do not pay any attention to the opinion of [Ukrainian artists]. Possession of the object does not necessarily give the right to publish and exhibit.”
Guelman had professed the fact that he wanted to help, seeing as he had dealt in Ukrainian art since 1987, but said: “Unfortunately, the war, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and all of this is not as important as the fact that I am a Russian gallerist.”
