OLHA BARVYNKA - FRAGMENTS
- sixteen online
- Jun 10
- 3 min read

SIXTEEN GALLERY |24 -- 30 JULY
PRIVATE VIEW |FRIDAY 25 JULY, 6PM
OPEN HOURS | 10 AM - 5PM DAILY
FRAGMENTS IS A SOLO EXHIBITION BY UKRAINIAN ABSTRACT ARTIST OLHA BARVYNKA. CURRENTLY BASED IN THE UK, BARVYNKA BRINGS A DEEPLY PERSONAL AND POLITICALLY RESONANT PERSPECTIVE TO MATERIAL-BASED ABSTRACTION, INFORMED BY HER LIVED EXPERIENCE OF DISPLACEMENT AND HISTORICAL UPHEAVAL.
In this compelling body of work, Barvynka explores the dynamic interplay between visual form, modularity, and the cyclical processes of creation and collapse. Through a series of abstract paintings and sculptures, FRAGMENTS investigates what happens when incompatible elements are forced into coexistence—and how, through fragmentation, new forms can emerge.
Barvynka works with found materials such as fragmented cardboard, metal, concrete, glass, and textile, constructing compositions that balance tension and transformation. Her sculptural and painted works are modular in structure: each piece functions independently, yet also contributes to larger composite arrangements. This approach allows for multiple configurations, echoing the cyclical, unresolved nature of historical and personal trauma.
Architectural motifs recur throughout the exhibition—walls, beams, and stair-like forms—suggesting both human ingenuity and the scars of destruction. Colour plays a central role: layered transparently in her paintings, it evokes emotional and spatial depth, embodying the raw psychological terrain of collapse and recovery.
Fragmentation acts as both material method and conceptual language. Blurred lines, broken edges, and unstable geometries speak to disintegration—but also to the potential for renewal. Barvynka’s work challenges us to consider the hidden costs of reconstruction:
What does it take to create something truly new?
Where does the process begin, and what must be left behind?
How do these cycles unfold across global systems—and within our everyday lives?
FRAGMENTS is both a meditation and a provocation. Through her refined visual language, Barvynka invites us to reflect on the relationship between personal memory, collective trauma, and the elusive hope of utopia
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Olha Barvynka is a Ukrainian abstract artist based in Cheltenham, UK, and a current student of Contemporary Art at the University of Gloucestershire. With a background in photography and digital media, her practice now centres on painting, drawing, and sculpture using materials such as concrete, textile, metal, and found fragments. Her work explores cycles of collapse and reconstruction through a materially driven process that reflects on historical trauma, embodied memory, and systems in flux. Barvynka draws influence from Constructivism, Ukrainian modernism, and artists such as Peter Buggenhout and Charles Hewling. She is also active in curatorial work supporting Ukrainian artists in the UK, particularly through her involvement with festivals in Gloucester. Her recent project FRAGMENTS marks a turning point in her practice, expanding her exploration of spatial form, colour, and collective experience.
OLHA BARVYNKA'S PERSONAL STATEMENT
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