31 May 2026
(PHOTO: Intent)
While Lviv is opening new galleries and cultural spaces during the war, Odesa is increasingly losing the dynamics of its artistic life.
This opinion was expressed in an interview with Intent by gallery owner, curator and musician Pavlo Gudimov.
The gallerist noted that Odesa is a city that lost a lot during the war. It lost a lot of artists, it lost art managers, it lost collections that went to evacuation for good or are buried in funds somewhere.
"There is a kind of boom in galleries and art spaces in Lviv. We have been observing this most of all in the last two or three years. But this is due to the fact that a lot of people have come to Lviv. You can see it even in the city, that the city is full of people, full of transport, full of ideas. Indeed, Odesa now, before this tourist season has started, does not look full. It looks like a city that is a little bit on pause. Some processes are on hold. And, of course, you can feel it when you look at the state of the city's architectural heritage. The holes in the buildings look scary," emphasized Pavlo Gudimov.
Pavlo Gudimov is a Ukrainian musician, guitarist, art collector, and art manager. He is the leader of the band Gudimov and former guitarist of Okean Elzy. On April 1, 2005, the band Gudimov broke a world record when they filmed, edited, and broadcast a video for their song "Short Talk" in a short time. On that day, representatives of the Guinness Book of Records presented the band with a diploma confirming the "purity of the new record."
Pavlo Gudimov also spoke about the exhibition of Andriy Sahaidakovsky at the Odesa National Art Museum, the Ukrainian presence at the Venice Biennale, the role of private collections and art during the war. He also talks about the phenomenon of Ivan Marchuk, the controversy surrounding Mykhailo Reva, the film Ocean of Elsa: Observations of the Storm, the future museum of Ukrainian rock, and his own return to funk.
Кирило Бойко