tatarczuk +

In recent years, particularly since he moved to Kyiv from his native Mariupol, Vasyl Tkachenko has focused primarily on figurative painting. His practice, however, also includes film and photography. Tatarczuk, too, made use of a camera. The starting point for the collaboration between the two artists was a photograph taken by Tatarczuk in Tkachenko’s studio. In the foreground, we see the painter himself; in the window behind him, Tatarczuk’s reflection is visible. The artists agreed that each of them would paint their own work based on this photograph—a double (self-)portrait. In this way, a dialogue of two gazes emerges: a record of an encounter taking place within a single image.

Vasyl Tkachenko (Lyakh), born 1995, Mariupol (Ukraine). Since 2019, he has been a member of the Freefilmers film movement. Vasyl’s paintings have been presented in numerous exhibitions, including”How Are You?” UMCA, at the ‘Ukrainian House’ (Kyiv, 2023), “Near/Far” at the Promotional Gallery (Warsaw, 2023), at the 5th Kyiv Biennial (2023), ‘Voices from Ukraine’ at the Labirynt Gallery (Lublin, 2025). The artist was nominated for the PinchukArtCentre Award 2025. He lives and works in Kyiv.