Alla Horska

This publication features over a hundred original works by Alla Horska, showcased at the “Alla Horska: The Kestrel” exhibition on display at the Ukrainian House from March 15 to April 28, 2024. The artworks have been loaned from museums and private collections. This artist’s monograph continues the exploration initiated by Horska’s exhibition.
The book includes essays on Alla Horska, a distinguished figure among the Ukrainian Sixtiers, delving into her diverse interests and the turbulent context of her era and environment, written by historian Radomyr Mokryk, art critic Liza Yelyzaveta German, theater researcher Hanna Veselovska, art historian and essayist Diana Klochko, and journalist and art historian Oksana Semenik. Olena Grozovska, an art historian, provided an introduction on behalf of the curatorial group. Olena Zaretska, Horska’s granddaughter and founder of the Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi Foundation, contributed the artist’s biography. The compilation of the publication is credited to Anastasia Yatskovska, with design by Dasha Podoltseva.

“Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has brought the experiences of the Sixtiers to the forefront, with the figure of Alla Horska serving as a symbol of this historical connection. Horska’s tumultuous biography painfully echoes the present day. Throughout her life, her works were censored and dismantled, and she was expelled from the Artists’ Union, persecuted by the KGB, and ultimately brutally murdered. At present, the mosaic panels she created in Mariupol have been destroyed by Russian occupiers. The evil that caused Horska’s death went unpunished after the collapse of the USSR, and now, emboldened and resurgent, it has sparked yet another war in Europe,” writes Olena Grozovska, the exhibition curator, in her introduction.

Serhiy Zhadan likened this exhibition to a battle flag symbolizing not just losses but resilience as the only way to safeguard oneself and one’s world. Taking to Instagram, he remarked: “‘The Kestrel,’ an exhibition honoring Alla Horska, is far from exuberant; rather, it reflects on the tragedy of the entire generation which the system attempted to break down; the history of the Bykivnia massacre that profoundly affected the Ukrainian youth; a curious and yet logical link between Ukrainian art and independence movement; and Ukrainian culture as a beacon of resistance against colonization. While all these narratives are undeniably dramatic, they serve as a poignant reminder that as long as we can speak out and depict our thoughts, articulate and elucidate, and as long as we hold on to our poets and artists, the empire will retreat and lose ground. Evil may be inventive and relentless in its quest to conquer and destroy, but our faith and memory have infinitely greater potential. The key lies in knowing how to harness it.”

Ukrainians have awaited this publication for decades. Its realization was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Dukat Art Foundation, RODOVID Press, collectors, authors, curators, translators, designers, subscribers, and numerous others.