How war changed a Kyiv museum's view of its past.

kyiv, Ukraine — Most of the galleries are now empty at the Mystetskyi Arsenal, one of Europe's largest art museums. As in almost all cultural institutions in the Ukrainian capital, its curators and archivists dismantled exhibits when war broke out on February 24. A large part of the collection of around 4,500 objects has been moved to a safe place. Gallery after gallery stands in darkness. And yet: this summer, Mystetskyi's Arsenal opens to the public, with a strong and beautiful exhibition, all the more impressive for its modesty and frank emotions.

A painting of bathers by Odessa painter Yurii Kovalenko calls , without any prompting, the landmines now under the beaches of this town - but this is from 1989. A near-abstraction of shaded gray strokes by Halina Neledva appears as a line of soldiers or a queue of refugees; it was painted in 1991.