The term "Ukrainian Avant-Garde" was first introduced by Parisian art historian Andréi Nakov for the exhibition Tatlin's dream, arranged in London, 1973, where works of international standard by avant-garde Ukrainian artists Vasyl Yermylov and Alexander Bogomazov were presented to the Western audience. Famous artists were mentioned by Nakov, such as Kazimir Malevich, David Burliuk, Vladimir Tatlin, Aleksandra Ekster, who were connected to Kiev, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa by birth, education, national traditions and identity. The Ukrainian avant-garde artists also include the outstanding Alexander Archipenko, whose art was influenced by impressions of his native land, Trypillya culture, archaic Cuman prairie statues, mosaics of Saint Sophia Cathedral, and St. Michael's reliefs and peasant pottery colours.
Against this background, Yermylov's and Bogomazov's appearance was not accidental. The first abstract work appeared here - that was the picture by Wassily Kandinsky on the catalogue cover of "Izdebsky Salon 2" (1910). The first international avant-garde exhibitions in the Russian Empire (the same Izdebsky Salon) took place in Odessa and Kyiv,and subsequently in St. Petersburg and Riga, where Ukrainians have been the most active participants and instigators