tatarczuk +

Zhanna Kadyrova, Waldemar Tatarczuk
By Weight. Palyanytsia
River stone, Construction foam block, Limestone, 2025

The Palianytsia project, initiated by Zhanna Kadyrova in 2022, is now known worldwide and, for international public, it has become one of the emblematic works of Ukrainian art in the era of full-scale Russian aggression. The exhibition presents three sculptures from this cycle. One is made of a river stone Kadyrova found in Transcarpathia. The other was created from debris carried downstream by the Dnipro River toward its mouth at the Black Sea, following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by Russian invaders. Another, third stone loaf is the work of Waldemar Tatarczuk, who treats Kadyrova’s practice here as a model to follow and a skill that must still be learned. For the material of his own stone loaf, he chose limestone – a soft and easily workable rock, but less durable and lacking the striking effect of the river stones Kadyrova typically uses. Choosing limestone thus represents the decision of a beginner in stone sculpture – Tatarczuk had not previously worked with this material. For the artist, however, this choice also carries symbolic meaning; Tatarczuk sees in it an allegory of the kinds of decisions being made in Poland and, more broadly, in Europe – a Europe reluctant to make an effort, seeking easy solutions, which does not necessarily mean the best ones..

Zhanna Kadyrova  born in 1981 in Brovary, Ukraine. She graduated from Shevchenko State Art School, department of sculpture.(was not accepted to the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture). Member of R.E.P. group. She creates site-specific projects: sculptures, mosaics, installations, objects and actions. In her artwork, she focuses on local contexts and place-people interactions. She was twice a participant of the Ukrainian pavilion at the 55th and 56th Venice Biennale and the main project participant of the 57th Venice Biennale. Works and lives in Kyiv.