Ukrainian artist Melissa Gun took part in Art Basel 2025, one of the most prestigious art fairs in the world, for the first time. Her expressive series about women’s experience of war and emigration caused a wide response and attracted the attention of international critics and collectors.
A voice that can’t be ignored
Art Basel is a global platform where the most relevant trends in contemporary art are presented every year. Among the hundreds of participants this year, a voice from Ukraine was heard for the first time – Melissa Gyun, who presented a series of works entitled Memory of the Skin. The focus is on the theme of female identity, trauma and inner transformation.
The artist works with mixed media, combining painting, collage, photography and working with materials. Her works contain a deep emotional layer that conveys the experience of loss, adaptation and search for oneself in a new reality. Her works are characterized by an intimate sensuality, focusing on the body as a carrier of memory, pain and hope.
“I work with pain, but I transform it into a healing form. This is my way of talking about memory, the female body, and the strength of the Ukrainian spirit,” Melissa told reporters in Basel.
Success and recognition
Melissa’s project has been highly praised by art critics and was included in the list of Top 10 New Voices at Art Basel, published by ArtReview Europe. Three works were sold during the exhibition, and among the interested parties were collectors from Germany, representatives of Kunsthaus Zürich, and a curator from MoMA in New York.
“Her art is emotional, honest and extremely contemporary. It contains the voice of Eastern Europe, which is so important to hear today,” said curator Emma Holzman from Berlin.
Art Basel – a new stage
Participation in Art Basel was an important milestone in Melissa’s career. She not only presented herself to an international audience, but also actualized the Ukrainian experience in the global context of contemporary art.
“Being here is not only about art, but also about responsibility. I want the world to see not only the tragedy of Ukraine, but also its strength, its women’s voice, its culture. And I am here to talk about it,” the artist said.
Strength through art
Melissa Gyun’s performance at Art Basel is a powerful reminder that art can be the voice of the times, an emotional document of an era, and a tool of cultural resistance. Her work is not only an artistic gesture, but a lively conversation about the body, trauma, recovery, and female power.
