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- “Dug Up and Locked” series
Luchko Ruslan
The project explores the mythological figure of the khovanets, the invisible guardian of the home and family. Through the lens of artistic glass, the sacred presence of this figure is transformed within a contemporary context. Glass is used as the key material, symbolizing the fine line between the visible and the invisible, between reality and myth.
In this project, I aim to explore the connection between modern instability, as described by Zygmunt Bauman in Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty, and the figure of the khovanets — the invisible guardian of the home. Bauman describes the world as one that is constantly changing, blurring the boundaries between the traditional and the new, the stable and the uncertain. This evokes anxiety and loss of identity, leading people to seek protection in something constant.
The khovanets symbolizes what remains stable in a fluid world, though invisible. It embodies the sacred presence that gives the home a soul and preserves it as a safe space amidst the chaos of the external world. Glass, as a material, is both transparent and fragile, serving as a metaphor for the fluid nature of modernity, where the boundaries between security and threat are constantly shifting.
Glass installations and objects embody the interaction between humans and the invisible world, which becomes especially relevant in the contemporary context. In times when traditional structures are collapsing and identity is becoming unstable, it is especially important to maintain a connection with the sacred and protective. The invisible khovanetsbecomes a metaphor for this hidden but significant interaction.
Ruslan Luchko was born in 1997 in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
He graduated from the Department of Painting at the Striy Art School, studied glass at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland, under an exchange program, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Arts degree at the Lviv National Academy of Arts.
Painting and artistic glass are the main directions of Ruslan’s creativity. He is a laureate of the Professor A. Bokotei award for young glass artists. He is the youngest and only representative of the young generation of glass artists who masters and works with blown glass. Currently, Ruslan is exploring the mythology of the Boyko region, retransmitting its characteristics in his work. His works have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions, festivals, and performances in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, China, Switzerland, and Italy.
Education
Since 2022, a graduate student, pursuing a Doctor of Arts degree (D.A. Degree)
2020 – Lviv National Academy of Arts, Department of Artistic Glass (Lviv, Ukraine)
2018 – Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design, Department of Glass (exchange program) (Wrocław, Poland)
2015 – Striy Art School, Department of Painting (Striy, Ukraine)
Alternative Education
2020 – Creative Industries Business Training “Higher Education Enterprise Programme” from “Creative Spark”
2019 – Performance School, Dzyga Art Center (Lviv, Ukraine), Ani Ibsh School (Germany)
2018 – Performance School, Dzyga Art Center (Lviv, Ukraine), Janusz Baldiga School (Poland)
Awards
2019 – Laureate of the (1st place) Professor A. Bokotei award for young glass artists
2019 – Diploma of the second prize laureate for winning the student creative works competition “Catch the Character. Natural Portrait”
2018 – Awarded a diploma for 1st place in the nomination “Originality and Modernity of Visual Artistic Techniques” in the project “My Ukraine: Pain and Hope”
2018 – Winner of 2nd place, first prize, Professor A. Bokotei award for young glass artists
2017 – Laureate of the Rotary Club award
2017 – Diploma for 1st place in the section: “Artistic Discussions. Exhibition” at the IV All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference “Student Scientific Discussions Outside the Format”
2017 – Diploma from the Lviv National Academy of Arts for creative and scientific achievements for International Student Day
2016 – 2nd place in the “Best Painting” nomination at the “Lviv Through the Eyes of Youth” auction exhibition
Personal Projects
2023
Exhibition “Artificially Made,” glass, painting, installation, object, Light Gallery, Lviv
2021
Painting exhibition at the Lviv Organ Hall
2019
Personal project “For Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner,” Lviv, Ukraine
Personal project “CREATING A FREE PERSON,” glass, painting, video art, LNAU Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine
2018
Personal project “RAILS,” glass, painting, Wrocław, Poland
Group Projects
2024
“10 Days to the Solstice,” glass, object, non-institutional space, Lviv
2023
Exhibition “Horizons / Orizzonti” at Villa Ex – Asilio Ciani, Lugano, Switzerland
Exhibition of nominees for the Professor A. Bokotei award, glass, Glass Museum in Lviv
2022
12th International Symposium of Blown Glass, Glass Museum in Lviv
“Work on the Theme: How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” glass, painting, object, Lviv, Ukraine
“Perché” exhibition, Umberto Mastroianni Gallery, Rome, Italy
Charity auction “Hands for Mom,” Diogenes Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine
2021
Exhibition of finalists of the Professor A. Bokotei awards, LNAU Gallery, Lviv
Franco Laboratorium 3.0, Franko House, Lviv
Group exhibition of European art, “Feiran” Gallery, Nanjing, China
Project “Draft,” MC6 Residence, Slavske, Ukraine
Exhibition within the festival of art and wine, Powder Tower, Lviv, Ukraine
Project “Visiocracy,” Institute of Contemporary Art Problems, Kyiv, Ukraine
2020
Project “Franko Laboratorium 2.0,” I. Franko Museum, Lviv, Ukraine
1st International Conference on European Glass Education, based at LNAU, Lviv, Ukraine
VR Exhibition “Reforming the Space,” M17 Contemporary Art Center, Kyiv, Ukraine
Objects Art Prize, “Chocolate House” Art Center, Kyiv, Ukraine
2019
Project “My Ukraine: Pain and Hope,” Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich, Germany
International Exhibition of Artistic Glass, Green Wave Art Street Gallery, Ushi, China
11th International Symposium of Blown Glass, National Museum in Lviv named after Andrey Sheptytsky, Lviv, Ukraine
Performance Art Days, Dzyga Art Center, Lviv, Ukraine
Lviv Art Days – Days of Contemporary Ukrainian Art, Lviv, Ukraine
Exhibition of the second prize of Professor A. Bokotei, Glass Museum, Lviv, Ukraine
Art residence “FREE,” Edem Resort, Lviv, Ukraine
Collective project “DRAFT,” Lviv, Ukraine