First Odesa conceptual artist dies

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Odesa has announced the death of artist Volodymyr Naumets, whom the museum called the first Odesa conceptualist.

According to the museum, Volodymyr Naumets was a visionary whose work expanded the boundaries of what was possible in art and significantly influenced the development of contemporary art.

"His contribution to the development of Ukrainian and world art is invaluable. An important participant of Odesa's unofficial non-conformist art. He was one of the first artists in Ukraine to boldly experiment with new media, integrating light figures made of neon tubes into his installations, creating unique visual and conceptual masterpieces. His works, which combine abstract painting with the traditions of iconography, have always carried a powerful spiritual charge, turning ordinary things into symbols of eternity," the museum emphasized.

The museum emphasized that Volodymyr Naumets was a particularly close figure to them.

"We remember him not only as a master of painting, graphics, video art, and performances, but also as a person whose inner strength and intellectual depth inspired everyone who had the honor of communicating with him. We are proud that a significant part of his creative work is preserved in our collections and is available for future generations," the museum emphasized.

Volodymyr Naumets was born in 1945 in Lviv. He received his artistic education at the Odesa State Art School (1959-1964) and the Moscow Higher School of Art and Industry (formerly Stroganov School) (1965-1970). In the 70s, he took an active part in holding unofficial apartment exhibitions in Odesa and Moscow. Since 1989 he has lived and worked in Cologne (Germany).

Volodymyr Naumets's works are kept in the collections of the Odesa Literary Museum, the Museum of Modern Fine Arts of Ukraine, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Odesa, art museums in Bern, Vienna, New York, and in private collections in many countries.

Кирило Бойко