every cell met with instant ease
when i speak to myself i use the kindest language i can summon, i am allowed the same grace i give others
and once i gave myself permission i was radiant
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Once Leda Found an Egg — Blue Like a Hyacinth
Born in Kerch, Crimea, Kulikovska’s life and work are inseparable from the political turbulence that has shaped Ukraine over the past decade. Her performances, direct confrontations with Russian aggression and authoritarianism, have landed her on Russia’s intelligence blacklist, making her a target of surveillance and persecution. Yet she remains undeterred, staging protest actions across Ukraine and Europe, defiantly challenging colonial and patriarchal structures.
In 2014, the same year she was banned, Russian forces seized the Izolyatsia art center in Donetsk, where her sculptures stood alongside works by Cai Guo-Qiang and Pascale Marthine Tayou, turning it into a prison and torture site. Her casts, molded from her own body, were destroyed. Years later, prisoners uncovered the shattered fragments, a haunting metaphor for both personal and national erasure.
In Ukraine, her feminist initiative Flowers of Democracy shook up societal norms with a clothing line featuring images of her vulva, igniting both acclaim and backlash. Her exhibition at Mriya Gallery is an extension of this philosophy. Once Leda Found an Egg — Blue Like a Hyacinth explores themes of motherhood, trauma, and survival through body casts, performance relics, and documentation of her politically charged actions. The pieces reflect the sculptures lost at Izolyatsia, turning destruction into rebirth. Recent video works and drawings reflect on the complexities of motherhood during wartime, making the personal unapologetically political. The exhibition also features the eighth installment of her performance Lustration / Ablution, where she cleanses herself in a bathtub filled with soap sculptures, symbolizing the intricate relationship between trauma, conflict, and healing.
In my work, I only create and speak about what I’ve experienced because I don’t think I have the right to do anything else
This exhibition is particularly significant, opening just days before the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (February 24, 2025), and the anniversary of the Day of Resistance against the Occupation of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol (February 26, 2025). With the rise of Trump’s administration, which aims to limit bodily autonomy and suppress women’s rights, these themes have become even more pressing. The exhibition serves as a powerful statement on the urgent need to defend bodily autonomy and the rights of women everywhere.
On Display
February 24 - March 5, 2025
Address: Mriya Gallery, 101 Reade St, New York, NY, 10013
Please Touch: Brett Miller
His designs don’t just invite interaction. They demand it. Round shapes, in particular, seem to call out to be touched. Please Touch is a rebellion against convention and an invitation to break the rules. It asks you to step outside the lines and reach for what’s supposedly off-limits. Because really, why not? Why does a table have to be rectangular, square, or even circular? Why does a chair need four legs? Why does a cabinet have to be static?
Miller’s work is the result of a decade-long journey of self-discovery, experimentation, and pushing boundaries. When he moved to New York in 2015, he was searching for something—purpose, direction, and a sense of identity. He started out farming in the Hudson Valley before shifting to metal fabrication. Eventually, he found his true calling in furniture making. In 2017, he launched Jackrabbit Studio and made it a full-time endeavor the following year.
"I’ve never been one to follow the rules," Miller says. "But through my practice and working with natural materials, I’ve gained a deep appreciation and respect for universal laws. Some things just won’t work, but most things do. And within the parameters of functionality, there’s almost limitless wiggle room for the expression of form." This balance between structure and freedom is at the core of his work. His pieces invite interaction, encouraging people to rethink how objects function.
"Why?" is the first question we ask as kids when we learn to speak. But before we ask why, we touch—to know, to understand, to feel. This show is about embracing that instinct. So, let the kid in you take over. Run your hands along the edges, break the rules, and Please Touch.
Please Touch by Brett Miller from January 18th - February 22nd, 2025
