The artist Vasyl Grublyak, who lives in Kiev, Ukraine, was a visiting fellow at the Künstlerhaus Bremen from November to December 2022. The two-month working and living scholarship “Artists in Residence Ukraine” is a cooperation of the Künstler:innenhaus Bremen with the Goethe-Institut and Artists at Risk and is aimed at artists from Ukraine who have been affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.

During his stay at the Künstler:innenhaus Bremen, Vasyl Grublyak took photographs that explore the perception of light in supposedly romantic and peaceful situations in Kiev and Bremen. The artist from Kiev, Ukraine, who otherwise works with spatial and light installations, chose the medium of photography for his exploration of light during his guest scholarship at the Künstler:innenhaus Bremen: “Every time I photograph something, I tell myself: I like this light. I don’t capture the object or the event, but how the light interacts with the subject and the surrounding space. These photos are my intimate diary in which I record my perception of light.” Since 24 February 2022, the subject of light has taken on a whole new meaning for Grublyak, literally and figuratively. In the field of tension between saving electricity and power cuts, dim candlelight and a lack of light, Grublyak contrasts photographs from Bremen and Kiev in the guest studio of the Künstlerhaus Bremen at the end of his guest scholarship.

Vasyl Grublyak (*1984 in Kiev, Ukraine), graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kiev. Grublyak’s work ranges between sculpture and design. Vasyl Grublyak has participated in exhibitions and art fairs in Ukraine and internationally with his large-scale light installations.

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