War in Ukraine inspires Wilton gallery's 'Allies for Art' highlighting artists in political turmoil

“We represent work from artists in a number of Eastern European countries and others who have moved to Western Europe and still others who are in countries now interested in joining the NATO alliance,” they said in an email interview. “We thought an exhibition of work from artists from this area — work that spanned the period from the Cold War to the present — could reveal much about how artists adapt to political uncertainty.”

In light of the present political events and a long history of political instability globally, the exhibition, “Allies for Art: Work from NATO-related Countries,” which will be on view October 8-16, will showcase nearly 50 artists. 

“Political instability can bring about unexpected and engaging art. It can influence an individual artist’s career for a lifetime,” the gallerists said in their email, explaining the experiences and perspectives of the featured artists are diverse yet share commonalities. The exhibition will feature artwork made by artists who have lived in repressive regimes aside current works by artists from Europe.

Artist Gyöngy Laky’s family escaped from Soviet-occupied Hungary after World War II — to Austria, then America and her experiences inform her politically themed works. Adela Akers’ family left Franco’s Spain, first settling in Cuba, then the United States. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the late Ritzi Jacobi’s expressive work in tapestry, which were abstract by nature, afforded her the ability to sidestep the Romanian government’s preference for academic, figurative art in line with its communist ideology. Jacobi died earlier this year but the gallery will display a piece they previously purchased from the artist. 

Common threads in the exhibition are bold compositions, a high degree of energy and innovation. The individual artists’ response to their political challenges takes on different forms though. According to her artist statement, Laky, who escaped Hungary as a child, thought she had put politics behind her until the Iraq war in 2003 when images of refugees called out to her and she created her first political-centric work of art in response. Her 2005 work featured in the show, “Globalization III,” is elegant in its powerful simplicity, spelling out WAR in red ink, ash branches, commercial wood, paint and bullets.

Russian-born artist Irina Koleniskova has said in her artist statement that the traditional credo in her homeland was to hide and survive so she created an “alter ego” in her artwork to convey what she is feeling. Years later, after moving to Germany, her work has become more free and combines principles of collage with freehand drawing though she admits that “unfree” themes persist in her work given her upbringing.

Gjertrud Hals of Norway noted in her artist statement that she belongs to the generation born immediately after World War II, explaining that she grew up in the shadow of war and was forever colored by it. “In the 60s, many people in our vicinity were still living with the after-effects of the war, physically and psychologically,” she said. Several of her artworks reference World War II and today, she is not far removed from the Russian-Ukrainian war going on. “When I am relaxing in my garden, I can hear the children next door playing. They are refugees from Ukraine, and the aggressor happens to be a state with which we share a border – it is an absurd, chaotic and unhappy situation,” she said. “In this situation, it feels reassuring that our country is part of a larger defense alliance; NATO. When it comes to the ‘Ultima’ vessels [three are in ‘Allies for Art’] I like to think that they look vulnerable, like many of my artworks do, but are actually strong, containing my hope for the future.”

In an artist statement, German artist Heidrun Schimmel, who is known for her detailed hand stitching, said she is keenly interested in the connection between thread and people and sees material as matter. Thread is often used as metaphors for people’s lives both in duration and quality. “So I take my ideas from special conditions of textiles, such as softness, flexibility, fragility,” she said. “From the tensions between the multiple thread layers result deformations: the work itself finds its final form through the combination of control and chance.”

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