Volodymyr is an artist who replaced the traditional canvas with metal and the paintbrush with a welding machine. His works are not just sculptures or paintings; they are emotions frozen in form, purified by fire. In this conversation, we delve into a world where metal becomes memory and art becomes a manifesto of unity.
Volodymyr, you consciously chose a welding machine and acid instead of traditional materials. How did your journey in art begin, and what inspired you to use fire and metal as your primary creative tools?
My journey in art was never planned. I didn’t wake up one day thinking about becoming an artist, nor did I follow the classical route through academies. It was an internal challenge—a need to express something for which words were lacking. I carried this idea for several years, and at a certain moment, I realized: a paintbrush could be too “quiet” for me. I needed tension, risk, resistance.
Therefore, the welding machine, fire, and metal became replacements for traditional materials. Metal does not allow you to embellish reality. Fire forces you to be attentive and responsible. There is no room for falsehood here—and that is exactly what attracted me.
Your art is the transformation of pain into the language of metal. How have the Ukrainian soul and your American experience in Chicago influenced your philosophy?
I was born in Ukraine—a country with deep memory, pain, and the strength of survival. The Ukrainian soul is the ability to feel deeply and not look away from difficult topics. Chicago, where my professional path was shaped, taught me scale, discipline, and the courage to think globally. In my art, these two worlds do not conflict—they complement one another. Ukraine gave me meaning. America gave me the space for that meaning to sound loud.
What does fire symbolize for you, and how does this image help express gratitude to Ukrainian soldiers?
Fire for me is purification, truth, and rebirth. It burns away the excess but leaves the essence. This is precisely how I perceive the Ukrainian spirit—it can be wounded, but it cannot be broken. Through fire in my works, I express my gratitude to Ukrainian soldiers—people who passed through the flame and remained a light for others.
How much of working with fire and acid is a controlled technique, and how much depends on improvisation and the elements?
My process is a dialogue between control and the elements. I know precisely what I want to say, but I don’t always know how the metal will respond. Acid, fire, temperature—they are alive. This is the honesty of the process: I do not force the material; I collaborate with it.
Tell us about the "Phoenix" project for Burning Man 2023. What does participation in such events mean to you?
“Phoenix” is a story of rebirth after pain. It was a great honor for me to be part of the team and realize this project with my own hands. Burning Man is a space where art does not embellish reality, but speaks the truth. Participation in such events as Burning Man or Art Basel gives me the opportunity to tell the story of Ukraine in a language that needs no translation—through form, scale, and energy.
You have created over 100 works in a few years. Where does the inspiration for such a volume of creativity come from?
From life. From pain, events, conversations, even from silence. In art, all three components are important to me—technique, philosophy, and emotion. But it is emotion that makes a work alive. Without it, even the most complex technique remains an empty form.
Your creative path develops in three directions: Art, Fashion (IGNIS), and the Book. How do you combine them?
For me, these are not separate spheres, but a single system—three forms of a single idea. They draw from the same source: fire, experience, and the need to speak to the world honestly.
Art is the foundation. It is my primary instrument of expression. Metal for me is memory that fixes emotions like scars on a body.
Fashion (IGNIS) is movement. It is the continuation of philosophy in the space of daily life. It is art that steps beyond the gallery walls and becomes part of a person.
The Book is memory and legacy. If art speaks in images, the book speaks in word and time.
At the center always stands the desire to transform pain into light. If tomorrow this idea requires a different form, I will follow it.
Tell us more about the IGNIS clothing line. How to translate the "language of metal" into fashion?
IGNIS is an attempt to transfer inner strength into a form that can be worn. This is not aggressive fashion, but silence that has weight. I asked myself the question: how to convey the weight of metal without burdening the body?
The answer came through minimalism. I do not imitate metal literally, but carry over its character: strength, endurance, traces of time. This manifests through the density of fabrics, clear geometry of cut, and metal elements reminiscent of welding lines. The palette is restrained: black, graphite, ash — like the trace of embers after a fire. This is clothing for people who have walked their own path and value meaning more than a logo.
The metal book project sounds unique. What do you want to convey through it?
The idea was born from the need to fix meanings so that they cannot be erased. In the digital world, everything disappears quickly, and metal remembers the warmth of hands and the strikes of time. This book is a manifesto of unity. Each page can contain words about peace, strength, or dignity in different languages of the world.
This is about the fact that unity does not mean uniformity. Pages can have different textures or seams — just as people have different experiences — but together they form a whole. This book is conceived as a timeless object that will travel the world and remind: humanity is stronger when it remembers together.
What emotions do you strive to evoke in viewers? Were there reviews that stuck in memory?
I do not strive to evoke a specific emotion. I want people to stop. To think. To be silent. One of the most valuable reviews was: “I don’t know what exactly this means, but I feel it.”
How do you see the role of metal and fire in contemporary art today?
The world experiences too many shocks for art to remain decorative. Metal and fire today are the language of tension and transformation. Metal preserves the traces of experience, and fire symbolizes the moment of transition: when pain begins to transform into awareness.
Society is ready for honest art. People are tired of superficiality and are ready to look at pain if it is transformed into light. Light after pain is not cheap optimism, but quiet hope. We are learning to accept art as a space of healing.
