Valentyn Metyk

Valentyn Metyk was born in 1992 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. He studied painting, drawing and anatomy through private lessons. He has exhibited regularly since 2015 and has lived and worked in Kyiv since 2019.

His visual language is built on three colours. Blue stands for inner harmony, spiritual growth and unity with the world. Red stands for devastation, degradation and destructive energy. Violet, which appeared in his work during the war, embodies the state of choice, the moment when a person stands between light and darkness.

His work is symbolic. His human figures have only mouths and ears: they listen to information and pass it on, but they do not see. The eye is his main symbol of awareness. It appears both in those who choose inner growth and in those who cultivate destructive energy, and its form changes with the chosen path. Rooted in personal experience, his practice explores inner states, spiritual transformation and the constant choice between light and darkness.

In 2024 Harper's Bazaar Ukraine published an interview with him in its "Art Department" section.