You are here: American University College of Arts & Sciences American University Museum 2023 Lost Europe: On the Edge of Memories

Lost Europe:
On the Edge of Memories

Karel Cudlin, Photographer
Jan Dobrovský, Photographer
Martin Wágner, Photographer
Milena Kalinovska, Curator

June 17–August 13, 2023
September 9–December 10, 2023

“Through these photographs, you’ll step into a country with a dramatic history … a place reminiscent of the poetics of a life that is disappearing forever.”

lost

Jan Dobrovský, Villager, Svalovychi - Volyn Province, 2017. Pigment print on archival cotton paper, 19 ¾ x 15 ¾ inches.

Events

  • 9/16: Special Presentation: “A Day in Kyiv”
  • 10/21:Reading Performance: Ukrainian Poetry

Exhibition Overview

Take an intimate walk across rural Ukraine through the lens of three Czech photographers: KarelCudlín, Jan Dobrovský, and Martin Wágner. This is the first exhibition of these black and white photographs in the United States. The current situation of Putin's invasion of Ukraine is, of course, central to the show.

All three photographers spent their adulthood in the devastated societal, political, and economic scene of Eastern European countries under Soviet-led communism and witnessed their rehabilitation after democratization, first of Eastern Europe in 1989, and then of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The exhibition features over 75 photographs documenting the day-to-day life of Ukrainians from 1991 to 2018. Through these photographs, you’ll step into a country with a dramatic history… a place reminiscent of the poetics of a life that is disappearing forever.

Karel Cudlin, Odessa, 2012

Karel Cudlin, Odessa, 2012. Pigment print on archival cotton paper, 19 ¾ x 15 ¾ inches.

Martin Wágner, In front of school, Slavske, Carpathian Mountains - Lviv province, 1998

Martin Wágner, In front of school, Slavske, Carpathian Mountains - Lviv province, 1998. Pigment print on archival cotton paper, 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches.