Ivan Lehutskyi

IVAN LEHUTSKYI (Donetsk region, Ukraine, 1961).
"River of Oblivion," 2024.
Acrylic on canvas.
Certificate of authenticity included.
Measurements: 100 × 70 cm.

The tension between individual identity and collective consciousness forms the conceptual core of River of Oblivion, a work in which the human figure appears to progressively lose its boundaries within a shared structure. Here, Lehutskyi explores the mechanisms through which ideological radicalization and peer pressure can erode personal autonomy and diminish the individual’s critical capacity. Works for Setdart

Formally, the figures intertwine and fragment through a network of lines and chromatic planes that makes it difficult to clearly distinguish where one body ends and the next begins. Blues, greens, pinks, and reds overlap in a highly dynamic vertical composition, making visible that progressive dissolution of individuality alluded to in the title.

The reference to the “river of oblivion” thus takes on a metaphorical meaning: the collective current sweeps away not only identity, but also memory, personal responsibility, and the capacity for resistance. The work connects in a particularly direct way with Lehutskyi’s artistic statement, which focuses on the confrontation between individual consciousness and collective reality and on the way in which social pressure, conflict, and instability transform the contemporary subject. works for Setdart works for Setdart

Ivan Lehutskyi was born in the Donetsk region and studied at the Kharkiv Art Institute from 1985 to 1990 in the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting. After a training stint in the United States in 1996, he spent more than two decades working professionally in the fields of stained glass and mosaics. During the pandemic, he returned to easel painting and currently lives and works in Spain. His works are part of the collections of NPK Bank in Kharkiv and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin, as well as private collections in Ukraine, Germany, the United States, Canada, and Spain.