Tatlin: Kyiv | Tetyana Filevska, Oksana Semenik

Tatlin: Kyiv explores the Kyiv period of the life and work of Volodymyr Tatlin, one of the key avant-garde artists of the early 20th century. The book also serves as a catalogue for the exhibition of the same name, currently on view at the Ukrainian Museum in New York, curated by Peter Doroshenko.

As curator Peter Doroshenko notes in the catalogue’s foreword, the exhibition offers a postcolonial perspective on the achievements of the avant-garde. It seeks to draw attention to Tatlin’s influence on Ukrainian avant-garde artists, as well as to encourage reflection on national identity, modernity, and resistance. Through this publication, Ukrainian artists actively rethink the cultural narratives inherited from imperial Russia and resist external attempts to nullify their achievements.

Research conducted by Tetyana Filevska and Oksana Semenyk covers Tatlin’s biography, from his birth in Kharkiv and his studies to his later years as a teacher. Particular attention is paid to the period when Tatlin headed the Department of Theatre, Cinema and Photography at the Kyiv Art Institute at the invitation of its rector Ivan Vrona. The authors also debunk numerous myths and legends surrounding Tatlin’s figure due to the limited number of available archives, documents, works and previous research.