Ukrainian avant-garde artworks defy Russian bombs to reach Madrid exhibition

A secret convoy of two trucks carrying 51 rare Ukrainian avant-garde artworks left Kyiv last week, just hours before Russian missiles struck the capital, on a perilous 3,000-kilometer journey to Madrid. The mission, supported by the Museums for Ukraine initiative, transported works from the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Kyiv, and private collections to the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. The exhibition, titled "In the Eye of the Cyclone. Avant-garde in Ukraine, 1900-1930," opens November 29 and features 70 works, including pieces by Kazymyr Malevych, El Lissitzky, Mykhailo Boichuk, Oleksander Bohomazov, Vasyl Yermilov, Viktor Palmov, Anatol Petrytskyi, Alexandra Exter, Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine, and Sonia Delaunay. The convoy faced dangers from Ukraine's collapsed energy infrastructure and tensions over missiles found in Poland. Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, founder of Museums for Ukraine, called it "the largest and most important export of Ukrainian cultural heritage since the war began," noting Russia's disregard for the Hague Convention and destruction of over 500 cultural heritage sites. The exhibition will open with a video message from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. After closing in Madrid on April 30, 2023, the works will travel to the Museum Ludwig in Cologne and possibly other European venues.