“Knowledge is wealth”

CHYCHKAN ALEKSANDRA, born in 1988, Kyiv – young ukrainian artist who has her own unique technique (collage). She was born into a family of famous artists – Tatyana Ilyakhova and Illia Chychkan. Aleksandra has been a participant in numerous group and solo exhibitions since 2009.  Until 2010 she worked together with the artist Alina Pivnenko (group Ch & P Junior). She won the national competition of urban sculpture “Image Of The Future” (2011),  participated in various projects “Yin” in 2013, Contemporary Art Centre “M17”; “Should The World Break” in Ludmila Bereznitska & Partners Gallery, as well as at the Ukrainian Fashion Week. Her works are in many private collections. She lives and works in Kyiv.

CHYCHKAN ILLIA, born in 1967, Kyiv. Chychkan’s grandfather is a Ukrainian artist, social realist, Professor of Kyiv Art Institute (The National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture).  Chychkan’s father A. Chychkan is a Ukrainian nonconformist artist, participant of the legendary “Exhibition of 13 “(1979), which mirrored the passive resistance of the ukrainian new painting to socialist realism.  Since 1987 Chychkan has taken part in group exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad. In the 1990s his name was associated with the artistic movement “Nova Khvilya”.  In 1988-1989. Chychkan and a small group of other artists founded a group called the ‘Paris Commune’, the art of which was dedicated to protest against bureaucratic cultural institutions left over from Soviet times. In 1993 the first solo exhibition of I. Chychkan “Mutation gene” was held in the exhibition hall of the union of artists, in Kyiv.  In 1994 the second solo exhibition – “Alter Idem” was held in the center of arts “Brama”. Today Chychkan is one of the most famous and expensive ukrainian artists in the world. His works were displayed in galleries and museums in Europe, the USA and South America. They also participated in prestigious international forums and festivals of contemporary art — Biennale in San Paulo (1996), Biennale of contemporary art in Johannesburg (1997), Prague Biennale (2003), European Biennale Manifesta (2004) In 2009 Chychkan represented Ukraine at the 53rd International Venice Biennale of contemporary art. Chychkan is married to Maria Shubina who is also an artist. Chychkan’s children — David and Alexandra — are young, contemporary artists.