Kostyantyn Doroshenko

Kostyantyn Doroshenko
Native name	Костянтин Володимирович Дорошенко
Born	(1972-01-14) 14 January 1972 Kiev, Ukraine
Citizenship	USSR →  Ukraine
Education	Historian
Alma mater	Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Occupation	Art critic Contemporary art curator Media manager Radio host

Kostyantyn Doroshenko (Ukrainian: Костянтин Володимирович Дорошенко; born 29 October 1972, Kiev, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukraine Art critic, contemporary art curator, media manager, radio host of talk radio station Radio Vesti (Ukraine). According to «Art Ukraine» magazine he is in the top five most influential Ukrainian curators^[1] and in the top ten leading art critics of Ukraine of 2000s.^[2]

Biography

Doroshenko was born in Kiev, graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1989—1994), he is a historian. His graduate work was dedicated to European knighthood and courtly culture.

First working place — Museum of History of Kiev City (1994—1995), where he managed the sector of the "Ukrainian diaspora history" department.

At that time he started to write articles about culture, art and society. His works are published in Vil`na Dumka (Australia), Fakty i Kommentarii (Ukraine), Finansovaya Ukraina, Kapital and Ptyuch magazines (Russia).

Work in media

From 1995 to 1998 Doroshenko works in the first Ukrainian lifestyle magazine LOOKS as an editor of "Society" and "People" departments .

In 2000-2001 he worked in the team that launched the Kommersant newspaper in the Ukrainian market as an editor of "Society" department and Weekend application. In 2001 the project has been closed because of political censorship pressure.^[3]

After the invitation of KP Media holding owner Jed Sunden in 2001 Doroshenko creates a new Kiev magazine Afisha.^[3] This project remained on the media market for the next nine years.

In 2005, when Kommersant came back to Ukraine, he became the manager of the PR department and the corporate advertisement. From 2006 until 2009 he worked in a group of projects known as Telekritika, as a project development director.^[4]

Doroshenko is an author of publications about art and culture in Australian, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Azerbaijani public and special editions. He is regularly published in Artguide editions (Russia), Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, Den, Publichnye liudi.

In 2014 Doroshenko became a host of talk radio station Radio Vesti. He has a few author’s radio shows including "Doroshenko's Cult", "Elementary", "War of the Worlds" and "The Cynics".

Curator projects

2001 - "Crucified Buddha", Kiev, Museum of Cultural Heritage.^[5] The first personal exhibition of Alexander Roytburd, co-curator - Natalia Smirnova. It was the first contemporary art exhibition at state museum area. The exhibition was held under the patronage of US embassy because at the time Roytburd lived in New York.

2007 - "Hilism", New York City, Ukrainian Institute.^[6][7] Personal exhibition of British-Australian artist Michel Murphenko.

2011 - "Fatal Strategies", Kiev, 7th pavilion of Expocenter of Ukraine.^[8] The project by Ukrainian designer and artist Olga Gromova dedicated to the eponymous book by Jean Baudrillard, presentation of Ukrainian translation of which was a component of the multimedia performance. Scenography author - Georgy Senchenko, in tandem with Arsen Savadov. In the final of fashion show Olga Gromova's special collection of clothes created in style of architectural bionics was burnt in front of the audience of 280 Kiev and foreign VIP. "Fatal Strategies" won the Grand Prix award of the International prize "Ukrainian Event Award" and first places in the categories "The Best Cultural Event" and "The Best Creative Concept of an Event."

2012 - "Apocalypse and Renaissance in Chocolate House", Kiev, Chocolate House. An exhibition within the framework of First Kiev Biennale "ARSENALE". Idea - Oleg Kulik, co-curator - Anastasia Shavlokhova, organizer - Mironova Gallery. At that exhibition 43 artists from Ukraine and Russia presented the metaphor of modern times, the image of the protesting and confused world in a state of an occasional moment of rest. Andrey Monastyrsky, Arsen Savadov, Anatoly Osmolovsky, Dmitriy Gutov, Illia Trushevsky, Zhanna Kadyrova, Olga Gromova, Valeriy Chtak, Andrey Kuzmin, Oksana Mas and others artists were among the participants. After 15 days the exhibition was censored and curators decided to close it.^[9]

2014 - "Fourth Front Door", Kiev, Taras Shevchenko National Museum.^[10] Personal exhibition of Dnipropetrovsk artist Nikita Shalenyi. This project was dedicated to historian’s Jacques Le Goff's "long Middle Ages" theory. If this historian claimed Middle Ages had lasted until the 19th century, the "Fourth front door" shows that the "Dark Time" is still ongoing.

Books

In the spring of 2015 Doroshenko published a book "The End of the Late Iron"^[11][12] as a result of his creative way. The book includes different author's texts, published during the twenty years of his work in journalism as well as numerous archival photos.

Estimates and comments

In 2011 «Art Ukraine» magazine called Doroshenko one of top ten leading Ukrainian art-critics of 2000s.^[2]

He is in the top 50 most influential people of Ukrainian contemporary art and in the top 25 most influential figures of Ukrainian art market^[13] by the "Focus" magazine (2012), and in the top 100 most influential figures of contemporary Ukrainian art by «ArtUkraine» magazine (2012).

In 2015 he was awarded the prize named after Mikayil Mushfig Azerbaijani poet.^[14]

"[Doroshenko] basically keeps himself away from any art factions and therefore he can afford to make an objective autopsy of the whole artistic environment."

Art critic Anatoliy Ulyanov^[15]

"Kostyantyn Doroshenko is a custom-made product - uncompromisable and tremulous one at the same time. Such people are the DNA of any original culture. I believe in Ukrainian culture because it has Kostya"

Artist Oleg Kulik^[11]

References