In 2009, the Municipal Gallery hosted a posthumous exhibition in honor of Vasyl Ivanovych Antoniuk, titled “Vasya, Goodbye!”
Vasyl Antoniuk was a cult figure in Ukrainian and Kharkiv art. Sadly, he passed away on December 30, 2008. On February 7, 2009, 40 days after his death, friends and family presented an exhibition at the MG dedicated to his memory.
The exhibition included about 30 of Vasyl’s works, some of which were borrowed from private collections. A separate stand displayed over 100 photographs capturing the artist in various moments of his life: pensive, joyful, surrounded by friends, and playing with his child. At the heart of the exhibition was a sculptural “portrait” of the artist, created in a contemporary art style by Irina Melnikova, who had conceived the image during Antoniuk’s lifetime.
One of his friends and colleagues, the graphic artist and Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts professor Vitaliy Kulikov, spoke about the loss: “If I were a believer, I might find some solace in the belief that God takes the best,” he confessed. “But as it is… How unfair! He was so young… He was exceptionally talented, hardworking, kind, with a gentle name that suited him so well – Vasya! Goodbye…
