"The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art

Updated: Nov 30, 2023

Tetiana Kalivoshko - JM Art Management — Red for love 5, 2020

"The Red One - That Is Love" is a thought-provoking art series by Tetiana Kalivoshkko that encompasses printed photography images, installation, life performance, and video work. Through this series, the artist delves into the complex themes of human connectedness and alienation as influenced by cultural and social circumstances.

The central motif of faceless couples wearing gas masks, with each pair connected by a vibrant red thread, serves as a powerful metaphor for the masks we wear in our daily lives. These masks symbolize the rules, constraints, preconceptions, and social pressures that compel individuals to hide their true identities. The gas masks obscure the face, rendering it anonymous and detached from personal expression. However, they are removed in moments of solitude or when in the presence of trusted individuals who have earned one's vulnerability.

The bright red thread that links the couples represents the myriad forms of love and connection that exist among people: the love between soul mates, lovers, friends, family members, colleagues, strangers, and even across diverse races, genders, social classes, sexual orientations, abilities, disabilities, religions, and cultural backgrounds. It echoes the ancient East Asian proverb that speaks of an invisible red thread that binds together those destined to meet, transcending the barriers of time, place, and circumstance. Although this thread may stretch or tangle, it remains unbreakable.

The juxtaposition of connectedness and alienation lies at the core of this artwork. It highlights how human nature seeks connections while acknowledging the divisive consequences of societal and cultural norms. The series explores the collision between the innate desire to forge relationships and the sense of isolation that arises from conforming to societal expectations.

Through "Threads of Unconditional Love," the artist encourages viewers to reflect upon their masks and the boundaries and constraints they impose on their capacity to love and be loved. The photographs, installation, performance, and video invite audiences to contemplate the impact of cultural and social circumstances on personal connections and to embrace love without boundaries or constraints.

This art aims to challenge individuals to remove their metaphorical masks, fostering empathy, understanding, and acceptance. It emphasizes that the physical mask is merely an obstacle, while the true barriers lie in the stories we construct around love and the limitations we impose on ourselves. Inspiring people to overcome these obstacles and embrace love unconditionally, the artist believes we can foster a more compassionate and inclusive world.

Ultimately, "Threads of Unconditional Love" calls upon individuals to resist societal pressures, to express and understand their emotions openly, and to persistently seek and share love in all its forms. It serves as a reminder that the human need for love and connection is universal, transcending the boundaries that society often places upon it.

Tetiana Kalivoshko is an American-based Ukrainian artist who specializes in painting, sculpture, and art installations. Graduated from the L’viv National Academy of Art and Shanghai's East China Normal University.

She decided to devote herself to the world of art in 2015 after seeing the exhibition "In Love With Art" which motivated her to begin developing her art and ideas and to travel across the world.

Tetiana's debut project installation, "Peace," was shown in several Ukrainian cities. The installation “Peace”.

Her work materialized spectacular shapes of Chinese hieroglyphs that mean "Peace". In 2016, Tetiana presented her first collection, "Warm inside", in Shanghai.

At the same time, she worked as an art teacher for children and adults in a private school "Gong Mei Art".

She presented her special installation project "Old Legend" at Changzhou City, China, in the autumn of 2016.

Enchanted with the great perspectives for artists in North America, she decided to move to Miami. Her first exhibitions in the U.S. were held in Miami Art Basel 2017 where she exhibited her "Spring War".

In 2018, she was invited to Santiago, Chile to present her installation project in the "SALA En Transito" gallery called "Gold Inside".

Later in 2018, she had an exhibition at Art Palm Beach 2018 where she presented "Spring War' and "Spring War Mandala".

At the end of 2018, she participated in two collective exhibitions "Red Square art gallery" and "Don private exhibition".

Some artworks from her "Spring War" collection are part of the collection at the Boyarsky Museum and the Lesia Ukrainka Literature Memorial Museum. The idea of this collection is to show how war weapons should be discarded and transformed into flowers, a new life, and a lovely future.