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Growh. Hanna Zhyvotovska and Maryna Handysh exhibition. 29.04 – 25.05.2025

Growh. Hanna Zhyvotovska and Maryna Handysh exhibition. 29.04 – 25.05.2025

«Growth» is a shared title of an exhibition by two artists — Anna Zhivotovska from Lviv and Maryna Handysh from Kyiv.
The idea to bring their works together came from Olesya Domaradska, curator of the Green Sofa Gallery.

Anna Zhivotovska’s series «Growth» is an expanded and developed collection of paintings created using the hot batik technique.
The series was mainly produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and was partially exhibited in 2020 at “The House Where…” in the P. H. Tychyna Memorial Apartment Museum in Kyiv.

The central theme of these works is the interaction between change and limitation.
On the outside, this is shown through images of a single house surrounded by plants and flowers in natural transformation, with windows and fences symbolizing restrictions.
The compositions based on diagonal lines reflect internal changes — the ongoing formation of the artist’s personal voice.

“Growth” speaks to the drive for constant self-improvement and overcoming personal doubt.
It emphasizes the value of careful image selection and the richness of layered forms, achieved through the meticulous and complex process of hot batik.

The exhibition will feature around 25 of Zhivotovska’s works, created between 2017 and 2024.

Maryna Handysh will present a series of ceramic sculptures from her 2024 project «IN VITRO», supported by the UCF.
This series is being shown for the first time as part of this exhibition.

“IN VITRO” is an experimental project exploring how the form, structure, and perception of ceramic sculpture can change under the influence of moisture and organic growth.
The works are presented as an installation of female ceramic figures, partially submerged in glass flasks filled with water, slowly being overgrown with moss.

The theme of femininity was chosen because the artist is interested in exploring how the external transformation of the sculptures parallels the inner shifts in her own emotional sensitivity in today’s world.
This image first appeared in her work during her transition from girlhood to womanhood and was tied to the exploration of her own sexuality.

Now, there is a need to return to this image as a therapeutic way to regain a sense of inner sensitivity and safety that was lost due to the stress and trauma caused by the war experience.

The exhibition will include about 12 of Handysh’s “mermaids” — ceramic sculptures of female forms.