Artist
Denys Shantar
Denys Shantar (*1997, Kherson, Ukraine), is a Ukrainian – Swiss artist and curator, who has a background in theater and acting. 2019 he graduated with a Fine Art Bachelor’s from the Zurich University of the Arts (CH) with a focus on Photography as well as Drawing and Painting. 2021, he finished his Master’s degree in Costume Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE). He exhibited in several international institutions and spaces, including Z33 House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt (BE), *Altefabrik Rapperswil during Grosse Regionale (CH), BASE Milano (IT), Morpho Antwerp (BE), Contemporary Art Institution Helmhaus Zurich (CH), Textile Museum Texture Kortrijk (BE) and Crux Galerie Athens (GR). He received the Emerging Artist Award during the 25th Gabrovo Biennial 2022 in Bulgaria. Additionally, he was granted the Royal Academy Antwerp Department Prize in Costume Design in 2021 and the CC Brugge Input/Output Aanmoedigings Prize in 2023. In 2022, he collaborated with the Museum of Modern Religious Art (MMRK) for his first solo show at the 3rd Ypres Quadrennial (BE) and continued working with the MMRK in 2023 to curate the group exhibition “CROSS-ING WAY-S” in Brussels. As of September 2023, he started his research project “God save the Queers – The (not so) secret Life of Saints” at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. He lives and works in Antwerp (BE).
As a starting point for his artistic practice, he often uses his own memories and family history, deploying different materials and techniques to create narratives that lie between reality and fiction. In his research about childhood, religion, migration, and queerness, he links the personal to global but also historical events, weaving in symbols from mythology, art history, folklore and Christianity. While exploring his complex identity and relationship towards himself, the world and his family, he asks himself two simple questions: 'Who am I?' and 'Where do I come from?’. Since his Costume Design studies, he started to focus on the use of textile, embroidery and collaging into his work. Using predominantly recycled, gifted, or found fabric and materials, he gives his work an invisible layer through the object's unknown past, combining it with the new given context. Besides his textile practice, he also creates In Situ works and/or uses curation in his artistic practice, like in his 2022’s solo show 'Will it bloom this year?’ held at the St. Martin’s Cathedral and St. Peter’s Church in Ypres
Education
2020 -2021
MA Costume Design Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASKA), Antwerp (BE)
2016 - 2019
BA in Fine Art at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Zurich (CH)
Awards/Grants/Scholarships
2023
Starter Project Research Grant at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts/ Antwerp (BE)
Culture Moves Europe Mobility Grant/ Creative Europe & Goethe Institute (EU)
2022
Emerging Artist Award/ 25th Gabrovo Biennial (BG)
2021
Royal Academy Department Prize in Costume Design/ Antwerp (BE)
2020
Fritz-Gerber-Foundation Scholarship/ Zurich (CH)
ZHdK-AVINA Student Project Fund/ Zurich (CH)
2019 - 2020
Studio Grant Migros Herden/ Zurich (CH)
Solo Exhibitions
2023
The Future Doesn’t Exist But I Love You So Much/ Crux Galerie Athens (GR)
2022
3rd Quadrennial Ypres/ St. Martin’s cathedral & St. Peter’s church Ypres (BE)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Passio2024 Il Cammino/ St.Michielskerk Kortrijk (BE)
Draad/ Texture Museum of Flax and river Lys Kortrijk (BE)
2023
Normativities in the LGBTQI+ Community/ Crux Galerie Athens (GR)
Queer Pandemia/ Roma Smistamento - TWM Factory Rome (IT)
Input/Output/ Poortersloge Brugge (BE)
Grosse Regionale/ Kunst(Zeug)Haus & *ALTEFABRIK (CH)
The Wonderer/ DISKUS Aalst (BE)
Verstehen/ Helmhaus Zurich (CH)
Queer Pandemia/ BASE Milano (IT)
Strange Fruit/ FAAR Antwerp (BE)
CROSS-ING WAY-S/ Museum of Modern Religious Art Brussel (BE)
2022
Currents #9/ Z33 Museum for Contemporary Art Hasselt (BE)
Antwerp Queer Arts Festival/ Morpho Antwerp (BE)
ABC of Subbacultcha/ S.M.A.K Ghent (BE)
25th Gabrovo Biennial/ Museum of Humor and Satire Gabrovo (BG)
Describe your pain from 1 to 10/ Grand Palais Bern (CH)
Demolution/ K.L.8 Brussel (BE)
KUNSTpause/ Chollerhalle Zug (CH)
2021
House Without a Roof/ Footnote Center for Image and Text Belgrade (RS)
Show up Show-Off/ Onboards Biennale Antwerp (BE)
MA Degree Show/ Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE)
Historie, Heesters & Meesters/ Academy open air (BE)
Jaman öner/ VR Exhibition (KZ)
2020
Watch and save me/ MultiMadeira Residency Funchal (PT)
2019
KUNSTpause/ governmental building Zug (CH)
House of hard knocks/ NOASS Riga (LV)
BA Degree Show/ ZHdK Zürich (CH)
Residency
2021
FLACC/ Genk (BE)
Footnote Center for Image and Text / Belgrade (RS)
2020
MultiMadeira / Funchal (PT)
Works in Art Collections
2022
Flag Triptych/ Museum of Humor and Satire Gabrovo (BG)
HOMO SEX U AL flag / Private collection (NL)
Curation
2023
CROSS-ING WAY-S/ Museum of Modern Religious Art Brussel (BE)
2022
3rd Quadrennial Ypres/ St. Martin’s cathedral & St. Pete’s church Ypres (BE)
Motherland/ Het Bos Antwerp (BE)
2021
International performance program/ To Be Antwerp (BE)
Interviews/Contributions
2024
Art & Research at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp/ Research project “God Save the Queers – The (not so) secret life of Saints” (127-128p.) EN/
Report 23 Research Department of the Royal Academy Antwerp – Self- published (BE)
Draad Jury Highlights / Interview & Artwork “Kateryna in Helvetia” (14- 15p.) NL/
Kunstletters (#024)– January - March 2024 (BE)
2023
Queer Pandèmia/ Artwork “Flags (and other short stories)” (243 -244p.) IT/
Edizioni Tlon & TWM Factory - ISBN 9791255540281 (IT)
I write what you write/ Artwork concept “St. Corona” EN/
Pink House Press (#104) – ISBN 9789464363371 (GR/BE)
Over vrijheid (in tijden van oorlog)/ Short Essay (29p.) NL/
foliomagazines.be & Noord & Zuid (nr. 10) – March 2023 (BE/NL)
2022
Until We Meet Again / Commissioned Artwork “Family Album: Temporary Lost”
(2/179p.)EN/ Marres, House for Contemporary Culture - ISBN 9789082813449 (NL)
You want to do something, you want to scream. But no one is listening/ Interview (online) EN /Different Class – 22.03.22 (BE)
Putin can’t stop me from making art!/ Diary Essay (online) NL-EN/
Mister Motley – 8.03.22(NL)
Exhibition Publications
2023
Input/Output 2023/ Artwork “Family Album: Temporary Lost” (40-41p.) NL/
Exporuimte Poortersloge Brugge – Self-published (BE)
2022
“Will it Bloom this Year?” 3rd Quadrennial Ypres/ My solo show with curation of the collection of the Museum of Modern Religious Art EN-NL/
MMRK & Vrienden van de Sint Maartens Kathedraal Ieper – Self-published (BE)
“Economy of Means” 25th Gabrovo Biennial/ Artwork “Wannabe Slav” (116- 117p.) EN-BG/
Museum of Humor and Satire – ISBN 9789548714532 (BG)
The ABC of Subbacultcha/ Artwork “I’m a homosexual” (62/146p.) EN/
S.M.A.K. & Different Class – Self-published (BE)
Mother(Land) Currents #9/ Interview & Artwork “Motherland (close up)”
(14-19p.) NL-En/ Marres & Z33 – Publish in the Until We Meet Again Appendix ISBN 9789082813449 (BE/NL)
Ontwerp: Studio Mast | Website: eps en kaas