On March 15, in the heart of Riga, at the partner contemporary art gallery CutArt, the exhibition “Fierce Spring – Lost Spring” opened—a curatorial project by the director of the Municipal Gallery, Tetyana Tumasyan. Our collaboration with CutArt has spanned over two years, and this significant project marks another important step in fostering international dialogue about contemporary Ukrainian art.

The opening was a vibrant event, bringing together star-studded guests, diplomats, and the creative intelligentsia. Among the attendees were:

• Hollywood stars: Oscar-winning director Cary Joji Fukunaga, one of the exhibition’s contributors, and actress Eva Green, known for her role in “Alice in Wonderland.”
• Representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy and the Ukrainian community in Latvia.
• Artists, journalists, and Riga’s cultural elite.

Speakers at the opening included:

• Victoria Zaitseva, hostess of the CutArt gallery;
• Tetyana Tumasyan, director of the Municipal Gallery;
• Cary Joji Fukunaga, renowned American director;
• Ukrainian artist Tetyana Malynovska;
• Director of the major American charitable foundation Choose Love, which has been supporting Ukraine for three years.

Authors of the exhibition text: Tetyana Tumasyan (Inst. @tatyanatumasyan) and Tetyana Malynovska (Inst. @tetiana.malinovskaa).

Cary Joji Fukunaga is an acclaimed film director known for works such as “No Time to Die,” the series “True Detective,” and the Oscar-winning “Victoria para chino.”

The “Fierce Spring – Lost Spring” project was conceived in 2022 when the director was volunteering in Ukraine. There, he captured images that became the foundation of the exhibition. The project was first showcased at Leica Gallery Madrid in 2023. In his photographs, Fukunaga explores the contrast between loss and recovery, highlighting light and humanity even in the darkest times.

The video work “Silence” by Tetyana Malynovska is presented by CityX Foundation and the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery. Malynovska is one of Ukraine’s leading artists, advancing contemporary artistic practices since the Kharkiv NonStopMedia Festival (2003).

CityX Foundation collaborates with her in programs supporting Ukrainian artists, and in 2025, her works were presented at the Zona Maco art fair in Mexico City.

“Silence” was first shown in Kharkiv in February 2022, just days before the war, and later at exhibitions in Poland. This video focuses on lips and silence, conveying tenderness, anxiety, and a desire for dialogue. The female figure in the work symbolizes resilience, love, and hope, which are especially significant during wartime.

The combination of Fukunaga’s photographs and Malynovska’s video creates a profound artistic dialogue. The visual poetry of their works allows the viewer to experience the internal tension between destruction and rebirth, between silence and expression, between tragedy and hope. This art speaks without words but has the power to touch everyone.