Art Kyiv opens second wartime edition in Kyiv

In Kyiv, Ukraine, the Art Kyiv contemporary art fair opened its second wartime edition at the Lavra Gallery, presenting hundreds of paintings and sculptures under the title "This is Normal." The event, held amid occasional air raid sirens warning of Russian missile strikes, deliberately avoids war-themed works to explore how art helps process a reality where death and destruction have become routine.

Organizers, led by director Anna Avetova, described the fair as a platform where artistic experience meets public discourse and Ukraine's current conditions. "Holding the event during wartime means not waiting for a better moment, but working with reality as it is," Avetova said. She added that art "helps make sense of the present, preserve cultural continuity, and lay the groundwork for the future." The displays feature oddly shaped sculptures alongside paintings ranging from expressive abstraction and surreal portraiture to atmospheric landscapes. No booth focuses explicitly on the conflict. "The war is always in the air, we just really didn't want to make a point of mentioning it," Avetova explained. "Art is one of the things that keeps us human. It sustains us and warms our...