Victoria Yakusha Gallery presents SHUM for Salon Art + Design 2025 in New York

For the 2025 edition of Salon Art + Design, Victoria Yakusha Gallery presents SHUM — an exhibition that tells stories of our connection with ancient forces. The selection brings together works created between 2020 and 2025 in a range of materials and techniques, including pieces by Victoria Yakusha as well as contributions from Diana Demyanenko and Ksenia Kravtsova. Each work draws visitors into interaction with the “living,” allowing them to become part of the space.

Shum (‘noise) speaks to the duality of noise — the overwhelming hum of information and daily pressures, and the gentle forest murmur that heals. Chosen deliberately, the word carries both meanings, reflecting a home that transforms noise into therapy. The armchair serves as a throne of serenity, tree-shaped lamps embody the forest, a wall sconce glows like the moon, and sculptural benches carry the spirit of mythical creatures. Together, they form not just an interior, but a living ecosystem.

The exhibition reveals the forest as a living system and a collective body of memory. Animism is not metaphor but vision: objects as spirit-guides, light as ritual, material as timekeeper. The works trace a projection across time — from archaic signs to luminous beings, from archival motifs to sculptural presences.

The exhibition brings together a constellation of works, each deepening the dialogue between human presence and ancient forces. The PLYN Armchair takes the role of a throne of serenity at the heart of the installation, while tree-shaped Grun’ Floor Lamps rise like living sentinels, scattering reflections that summon Polissia’s mystique. Whimsical benches and a wall sculpture of birds echo the forest’s rhythm, their forms suggesting movement and community, while the Tree Stump Table — shaped like a tree stump — grounds the space. Completing the circle, a Totem stands as a mysterious forest sentinel, drawing visitors into contemplation and connection with the surrounding works. Alongside these, other sculptural and luminous forms carry traces of forest life and ancient memory. The Soniah Sconce shines as the installation’s moon, casting a protective glow that embodies resilience and renewal.

PRESS RELEASE

The "SHUM" exhibition works

Victoria Yakusha embodies the philosophy of "live minimalism," an approach to architecture and design that seamlessly merges simplicity with environmental awareness. Recognized by Dezeen as one of the top 50 influential women in architecture and design, she is the founder of Yakusha Studio, the FAINA design brand, and the Victoria Yakusha Gallery of Ukrainian Design in Antwerp, Belgium, where she also serves as curator. Her internationally acclaimed work has been showcased at major events like Design Miami, Milan Design Week, and Melbourne Design Week. At the "SHUM" exhibition, she presents items from her recent collections: GRUN', PLYN, SONIAH, and DREVO.

Diana Demianenko

Born in Odesa and based in Kyiv, Diana Demyanenko is a multidisciplinary artist working across installation, painting, and video. Her practice explores the interplay between humans and their environment, reflecting on social upheaval, ecological change, and personal transformation. Through minimalist forms and tactile materials — from oil and acrylic paint to natural elements like soil and wax — her works foster a dialogue between people and the living world around them

Kseniya Kravtsova

Born in Kyiv, Kseniya Kravtsova is a sculptor, designer, and visual artist based in France, who merges Ukrainian cultural heritage with a poetic exploration of form. Trained in geology and experienced in ceramics, paper, and mixed media, she treats objects as “poems to be lived,” creating works that blur the boundaries between art, design, and craft. Her practice emphasizes sensitivity to nature and folk traditions, combining abstraction and figuration in sculptural forms that are simultaneously modern and timeless.