Garden. Lyzaveta Herman, Anna-Mariia Kucherenko, Borys Filonenko

Pre-order is aviable till the end of May 2026.

Garden opens a new book series on Ukrainian art, You Have Seen This Before, by ist publishing. The publication presents familiar images of significant works of Ukrainian art from different periods and reveals dozens of dimensions of the garden, which has fascinated artists for centuries.

In the book, we encounter Kazimir Malevich’s gardener and the figure consuming fruit in Mariia Prymachenko’s work; we immerse ourselves in the biblical story of the Fall and the ornamentation of Saint Sophia of Kyiv; we discover what Taras Shevchenko’s gardens looked like not only in his poetry; we enter the imagined floral space of Kateryna Bilokur and follow the map of one of the most prominent contemporary artists, Pavlo Makov, who has explored the theme of the garden in his practice for many years.

Through more than 50 works included in the book, readers are invited to trace the unfolding of the garden metaphor: from the image of paradise to the idea of a country as a garden, where everyone can tend their own. After all, the garden is a place of dreams, vision, and renewal. At the same time, it is a space of change, withering, and decline.

The main part of the publication is dedicated to traditional art forms — painting, graphics, sculpture, and decorative and applied practices. At the same time, the authors of the texts — Lyzaveta Herman, Anna-Mariia Kucherenko, and Borys Filonenko — also draw attention to other media: photography, public art, video art, and cinema, which have become especially relevant since the 20th century, when artists increasingly began working with diverse formats and materials.

Each work is accompanied by an authorial commentary that serves as a key to understanding its significance within art history and reveals connections with other works.

Artists whose works are featured in the book: Kateryna Aliinyk, Oleksandr Arkhypenko, T. Berezhnyi, Kateryna Bilokur, Tymofii Boichuk, Katia Buchatska, Vova Vorotniov, Hryhorii Havrylenko, Alla Horska, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Mykhailo Zhuk, Ivan-Valentyn Zadorozhnyi, Viktor Zaretskyi, Halyna Zubchenko, Alevtyna Kakhidze, Yov Kondzelevych, Ernest Kontratovych, Kyriak Kostandi, Vladyslav Krasnoshchok, Vasyl Krychevskyi, Katia Lesiv, Larion Lozovyi, Pavlo Makov, Kazymyr Malevych, Olha Rapai-Markish, Viktor Marushchenko, Volodymyr Melnychenko, Ivan Miasoiedov, Arkadiia Olenska-Petryshyn, Yevhenii Pavlov, Tetiana Pavlova, Viktor Palmov, Viacheslav Poliakov, Mariia Prymachenko, Hryhorii Pryshedko, Yan Pfister, Andrii Rachynskyi, Daniil Revkovskyi, Ada Rybachuk, Mykola Rokytskyi, Marhit Selska-Raikh, Karina Synytsia, Elena Subach, Leontii Tarasevych, Oleksandr Tarasevych, Stanislav Turina, Lesia Khomenko, Taras Shevchenko, Vasyl Shternberh, Tetiana Yablonska, Khudrada Curatorial Association, Sytuatsiini klumby.

About the series
You Have Seen This Before is a book series by ist publishing that presents a collection of Ukrainian art. Each edition offers a new perspective on phenomena and recurring themes that connect artworks from different periods. The series covers a wide spectrum of visual culture—from traditional artistic techniques to contemporary practices—and proposes a free, non-academic, and bold reading of Ukrainian art. Following Garden, the series continues with the themes Night, Water, and others.

Team
Publisher: ist publishing
Editors-compilers and authors of the texts: Lyzaveta Herman, Anna-Mariia Kucherenko, Borys Filonenko
Initiator of the book series You Have Seen This Before, author of the foreword: Kateryna Nosko
Literary editing: Iryna Kurhanska, Sofiia Holovko
Consulting: Lidiia Apollonova
Visual identity of the series and layout: Ostap Yashchuk
Proofreading: Olha Petrenko-Tseunova
Project management: Nastia Leonova, Kateryna Nosko
Communications: Signal Production (Ani Kazarian, Dariia Andriushchenko), Mariia Kharenko
Copyright lawyer: Mariia Farbota
Copyright management: Mariia Sharova