Ludmila Bereznitsky (Kovel, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian art historian and critic focused on the establishment of interactive connections between contemporary art from Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Asia. Her efforts are directed at creating new frameworks for cultural exchange on an international level. Ludmila Bereznitsky is also a President of the EIDOS Foundation which supports young artists. She also works as an associate professor for art history and theory at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, and is also the head of two galleries for contemporary art.
2003-now Associate Professor for Cultural Politics at the Faculty of Art History and Theory, National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Ukraine
1993 Doctor of Philosophy Degree, Thesis: “Communication as mechanism of the realization of moral relations”
1986 Research Fellow at the Chair of Ethics, Aesthetics and Theory of Culture.
1977-1983 Master's degree at the Kiev National University, Faculty of Philosophy, Master thesis: Problems of Art Development
Since 1996 Ludmila Bereznitsky has been teaching history, world and Ukrainian culture in Kiev Linguistic Institute. Beside her work as tutor at the professorship for “Theory and History of Art”, she starts to organize Exhibitions on the basis of Ukrainian art at the beginning of the 90s. Later she started to work with Ukrainian artists who belong to the “New Wave” movement.
In 1994 Ludmila Bereznitsky found the L-Art Gallery, today's Bereznitsky Gallery in Kiev. During a decade she was collecting soviet art. This unique collection consists of over 500 works. Furthermore, she extensively exhibits Ukrainian artists of the New Wave - Ukrainian transavantgarde. Among those artists are Alexander Gnilitsky, Arsen Savadov, Ilya Chichkan, Maksim Mamsikov, Visilij Tsagolov, Alexander Roitburd, Viktor Sidorenko, Igor Gusev and many others. As a result of this extensive work, Ludmila published a catalog “From Red to Yellow and Blue”, which presents the best works of the Soviet ideological art and presents art movements such as postimpressionism, neobaroque, neoprimitivism, Ukrainian metaphysics, postimpressionism and the Ukrainian New Wave. The Bereznitsky Gallery plays a very important role in integration of Ukrainian contemporary art into international art scene.
In 2005 Ludmila Bereznitsky together with Lubov Michaylova and Peter Bagriy founded Eidos Arts Development Foundation. The main objective of this non-governmental, non-profit organization is to create a base for representation and sponsorship of young Ukrainian artists and to give them an access to the international art scene. In 2006 EIDOS conducted the first Visual Art International Competition. The Competition’s main task is to search for new ideas and names, as well as support young artists’ initiatives which could appropriately represent Ukraine in the world art community.
An increased interest to contemporary art and a rapid development and fundamental changes of the art market creates an opportunity to collaborate with other cultures and countries. In 2006 Ludmila Bereznitsky opened the Bereznitsky Gallery Berlin. It is the first space in Berlin to represent contemporary Ukrainian art. The gallery presents the most exciting Ukrainian artists working today, making Eastern Europe’s lively yet neglected art scene accessible to a Western European audience for the first time.
Projects incepted, organised and curated by Ludmila Bereznitsky
2012
Power and Tenderness. Fragments of Beauty. LB&S Galerie, Berlin. Group show of Ukrainian and German young artists.
2011
Art Point. The Book - the book-documentation of the international cross-cultural project Art Point
2010
Art Point – international cross-cultural art-project, about city of Donetsk, Ukraine. Urbanistic art-laboratorium and Intervention into city environment.
Magnet – international art-project, Eidos, Ukraine. Artistic residence and International group show.
2009
Remake – environmental art-project, Eidos, Ukraine.
ARTforumLIVE – Eidos, Ukraine.
Art A Priori: topical stories - competition, main task of which was to open a contemporary art for a wider audience, Eidos, Kiev, Ukraine.
A Spires Embers / Albatross Nest - special project for GogolFest, Kiev, Ukraine.
Deutche Klasse - Group show of graduates of UdKA, Berlin in Bereznitsky Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine.
2008
Public Space, Kiev, Ukraine
Semantic Dislocations, Curator, Bereznitsky Gallery Berlin, Germany
Ukrainische Kunst im Wandel, Auswaertiges Amt, Berlin, Germany
2007
Ukrainische Kunst im Wandel, Bonn, Germany
Visual Arts International Competition, Kiev, Ukraine
2006
Conference "Contemporary Art – New Spaces", Kiev National University, Kiev, Ukraine
Cultural Journalism Seminar, Eidos Fund, Goethe-Institut, Kiev, Ukraine
2013
Interview with Boris Mikhailov for Art Ukraine link to publication
2011
In search for Genius Loci, introduction article for Cai Guo-Qiang "1040m Underground"[1], Donetsk, Ukraine.
2010
Texts for Art Point Project Catalogue and Documentation, Kiev, Ukraine.
2009
Introduction article to A Spires Embers Catalogue and Project Documentation [2], Kiev, Ukraine.
Text for Deutche Klasse Catalogue and Documentation, Kiev, Ukraine.
2008
Concept of Young Curators Competition "Art A Priori". Concept was implemented by Eidos Art Foundation on the same year.
2007
Samo-Oborona (Self-defence), general idea and conceptual vision, catalog of Eidos Competition for Young Artists, Kiev, Ukraine
Museum of Contemporary Art – laboratory of creative ideas and visual improvisations, curatorial statement and article by Ludmila Bereznitsky, Kiev, Ukraine
2006
Eastern Neighbors, exhibition catalogue, curator text for Ukrainian presentation, Maastricht, NL
Contemporary Art – New Spaces, Conference Report, compilation and article by Ludmila Bereznitsky, various authors, Kiev National University, Ukraine - in collaboration with MATRA-Program, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Francaise Culturelle.
2005: “From Red to Yellow and Blue”, book on private collection of Ludmila Bereznitsky, 667 pages, Kiev, Ukraine
Articles about projects and exhibitions curated or organised by Ludmila Bereznitsky
Art Monthly, 07/08/2008, S.32/33, Apartment Exhibition – Bereznitsky Gallery Berlin
Art Monthly, 06/2008, S.7-10, Behind a theoretical iron curtain
Art Review:, 05/2008, S.141, Semantic Dislocations, exhibition series Bereznitsky Gallery Berlin
Flash-Art, 12/2006, Kiev, Ukraine
TAZ Berlin, 27. December 2006 insight 175 – Ludmila Bereznitsky – galerist
The Day Weekly, 28. February 2006, Orange Revolution for Export
What's On, 05/2006, Pop-Art that answers back
Expert, No.2/2005, REP
Delovoi Zhurnal, 03/2004, Dengi v isskustvo
Berliner Zeitung, 22. September 2006, the young art and their spirits
TAZ Berlin, 29. September 2006, Gib dem Kaufer Zucker