Ukrainians Took Part in the International Abstract Art Exhibition "Crossing the Line" in New York
From January 27 to February 3, 2025, the international abstract art exhibition “Crossing the Line” took place at Mriya Gallery in New York. The exhibition was organized by the Ukrainian initiative Rukh Art Hub. The show featured abstract works by 23 artists from Ukraine, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, selected through an open international competition.
According to the organizers’ concept, “Crossing the Line” focuses on abstract art as a universal language that enables artists from different countries and backgrounds to communicate with their audiences and each other. Rukh Art Hub is a Ukrainian initiative based in the United States that works systematically to connect the Ukrainian art scene to the international one, while Mriya Gallery serves as a key partner and platform for such projects.
The exhibition opening brought together several hundred visitors from New York’s art community. On the opening night alone there were more than 800 guests who visited the gallery.
Maria Manuilenko, the co-founding curator of Rukh Art Hub, explains how the project works:
“Rukh Art Hub is an art initiative that organizes exhibitions, provides consultations for artists, and hosts charity events. The co-founders are Olga Severina and myself — we are originally from Kharkiv, but have been working in the U.S. art market since Russia invaded Ukraine. In New York we began our work and started producing exhibitions in late 2023.”
In 2024, Rukh Art Hub organized 12 exhibitions, primarily focused on supporting female art. In 2025, however, the team decided to shift its primary focus towards supporting Ukrainian art. The project’s co-founders believe this approach will help Ukrainian artists integrate more successfully into international art projects, where they can participate in equal conditions with their American and European peers.
Among the participating artists from Ukraine is Myroslav Duzinkevych, who has been living in New York since 2019. His work was selected by the jury for the exhibition’s shortlist.
Maria Manuilenko explains the jury’s decision:
“For his high level of professional skill and strong conceptual thinking. Ukrainian artists are generally not very visible in abstract art. That is why it is quite difficult to find works of strong quality and a high professional level in this genre among our compatriots for such exhibitions. Fortunately, Myroslav, having an academic art education, gained visual literacy and experience in abstraction after moving to New York, and very quickly developed an understanding of the genre at a high international level.”
In turn, Myroslav Duzinkevych describes his impressions of participating in “Crossing the Line” as follows:
“I really liked the idea of an exhibition dedicated specifically to abstract art. However what is also important is the communication with other artists from the United States, Europe, and even India—as well as with Ukrainian artists who are currently working in the field of abstract art. For me, working in the abstract genre, and especially participating in such an exhibition, is something new and therefore very exciting. And as a Ukrainian artist with experience of working in Ukraine, I am always deeply impressed by the number of people in the U.S. who attend exhibition openings.”
At the same time, Myroslav Duzinkevych’s involvement in the project was not limited to simply present his own work. He also took part in the exhibition as a co-curator, contributing to the development of the overall concept, the selection of participants, and discussions on the principles of the exhibition layout. His contribution included working closely with the artists and coordinating the visual dialogue between works of authors representing different cultural and artistic contexts, as well as shaping the exhibition’s cohesive curatorial logic.
This collaboration with Rukh Art Hub continued in a second international project, the exhibition “Intersection,” which took place in the fall of 2025 at IO Art Centers in New York. In this project, Myroslav Duzinkevych once again served as a co-curator, contributing to the development of the exhibition’s structure and curatorial logic, while also presenting his own works.