On 14 August, The Naked Room celebrates the 50th birthday of Petro Ryaska. To mark the occasion, we are opening two parallel exhibitions by our dear artist.
The first—According to Hanna She Thinks Well When Looking at Plain Concrete—will take place at The Naked Room gallery. The solo show is dedicated to the Intourist-Zakarpattya Hotel in Uzhhorod. Since 2016, it has been home to the Sorry, No Rooms Available residency, which, after the start of the full-scale invasion, gained real strategic significance, becoming a refuge for the artistic community from the most threatened parts of Ukraine. For Petro, the hotel as a place—with its distinctive interiors and vibe—became a space and a source of inspiration for his practice: performances held without an audience, but documented by the artist in videos and paintings, now presented in the exhibition.
Dedicated to Friends (2014–25), the second solo show presented in Kyiv, unfolds along Reitarska, Yaroslaviv Val, Zolotovoritska and Honchara Streets, in a neighbourhood that has, in many ways, shaped us and our community. Ryaska’s painted portraits of friends and acquaintances, created during meetings over the past ten years, here become a symbolic dedication to all those close to us who are not with us now. To those who remain in the city, working despite everything. To those defending us from occupation at the front. And, of course, to those who have given their lives so that we can stage jubilee exhibitions and enjoy Transcarpathian wine.
The works can be seen at Kashtan Wine, Zbirka, TSVITE TEREN, Dasha Katsurina Studio + Showroom, Zigzag Café, Kometa, SYNDICATE, One Tea Tree, Gilda, t.c.pizza, Entropy, attempt, Public Kitchen and The Naked Storage. They are on view during each venue’s regular opening hours.
