Exhibition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Zelena Kanapa Gallery.

20 years ago, on 27 October 2006, Zelena Kanapa Gallery opened in Lviv. The name of the gallery was chosen by its founder, Olesia Domaradzka.

She was looking for a combination of words that would include the word “zelena” (green) – a colour that, according to surveys, has the most pleasant associations for people. The colour of plants, summer, life and warmth. Emotionally balanced and calming.

The second word was also meant to be a Galician word. At that time, the trend of using Galician words was only beginning. This idea was also symbolic, just as the choice of the green colour was. The Galician word was meant to communicate the gallery’s Lviv origins and, later, its focus on Lviv and Western Ukrainian art. “Kanapa” – means sofa.

The first exhibition at the gallery featured Lviv artist Oleksandr Voitovych. It was in his studio that Olesia saw an early painting by the artist titled “Zelena kanapa” (Green Sofa), which, by the way, will be shown at this exhibition for the first time. The name was a perfect fit and was chosen.

Before the gallery opened, furniture for visitors to sit on had to be bought. Olesia decided that buying a green sofa would be a witty idea. This is how a small, elegant sofa in the historicist style appeared in the exhibition hall.

It was meant to simply be a place for gallery guests to sit, but it became its symbol.

The green sofa as a piece of furniture appears very often in the works of different artists, especially during the periods of Art Nouveau, Modernism, Impressionism, and so on. There are more than 100 works featuring green sofas in an album on the gallery’s Facebook page. They also appear in works by contemporary artists with whom the gallery collaborates.

The exhibition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Zelena Kanapa Gallery will bring together various works by contemporary artists featuring green sofas, as well as works specially created for this occasion at the curator’s request and selected through an Open Call.

The exhibition participants include: Yaroslav Motyka, Yana Hudzan, Oleksandr Voitovych, Serhii Savchenko, Olesia Kaznokh, Roksoliana Petrovska, Mykhailo Demtsiu, Volodymyr Stetsula, Dariia Zavialova, Olena Zotova, Natalia Bartkiv, Anna Atoian, Lesia Bablіak, Kateryna Haneichuk, Liudmyla Loboda, Halyna Vehlinska, Olena Kamenetska-Ostapchuk, Liliia Studnytska, Halyna Dudar and Oleksa Mysko, Kateryna Sad, Roman Romanyshyn, Petro Sypniak, Ihor Bilykivskyi, Olha Pylnyk, Serhii Mikhnovskyi, Solomiia Kovtun, Olena Tsiluyko.

The list is not final.

The exhibition opening will take place on 13 October at 18:00. Dress code – green.