Performative Practice and Sculpture: The GAZ Art Group (Ukraine)

Abstract

The paper examines the works of the GAZ art group, a Ukrainian creative duo of Vasyl Grublyak and Oleksii Zolotar1. In the context of modern art in Ukraine, their pieces exemplify the relationship between two genres of art: performance and sculpture. The main conceptual principles of the art actions RuTyna (2014), Ritual of Approval (2014, 2015), Armory Room (2014), and their practical implementation were considered; interpretation options were suggested. It was hypothesized that despite the obvious socially-critical orientation of the GAZ group’s art actions, the ideas of experimenting with space and analysis of its transformations are at the essence of their creativity. The connection between the artistic activity of the GAZ group and the current sociopolitical context was established, with a perspective for interdisciplinary study within the academic programs of spatial art, aimed at exploring a wide range of options of three-dimensional form, including installation art, sculpture, performance art, multimedia, and digital production