‘Naїve My Love’ Gunia Assouline
GUNIA and Assouline present a collaborative book on Ukrainian naïve art.
Naïve My Love: Ukrainian Art of the 20th Century documents unique artistic phenomena that emerged in Ukraine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The founders of the Ukrainian brand GUNIA Project, Mariia Gavryliuk and Natalia Kamenska, served as the publication’s creative directors and creative visionaries, while the collaboration itself was initiated by the media agency GOGOLA. The selection and curation of the works were carried out by editor Lidia Lykhach, while the texts for the book were written by Ukrainian journalist Anna Lodygina.
Some of the world’s most impressive artworks were created by people who developed their skills not through academic education, but through practice, constant refinement, and learning from other artisans throughout their lives. This is how naïve art emerged.
The publication features works by artists who had no formal artistic education and were far removed from the academic environment. Today, these works can be found in museums in Kyiv and other cities around the world, although some of them were considered lost for a long time. Some works were discovered only after their creators had passed away, while others survived only on the walls of houses, furniture, and other household objects in Ukrainian villages.
The book introduces readers to the most prominent names and works of 20th-century Ukrainian naïve painting, while also exploring its influence on the avant-garde of the 1910s and 1920s and contemporary design.
The project was made possible with the support of: Nova Ukraine,Bilokin Initiative,Sushko Philanthropy,Jorge & Maria Romo Foundation,Tokarev Foundation,ALIPH Foundation,xpate.
