This Crazy World is the final part of the Gray Art Cycle of projects in which artist Yevhen Svitlychni aims to convey his emotional reaction to the tragic war in Ukraine and to the epic drama of continually unfolding events in the contemporary world. Previous projects over the past four years have been exhibited at Burren College of Art, Courthouse Gallery (Enistymon), Glor Gallery (Ennis) and in Ukraine.

Yevhen Svitlychnyi (Alternate roman translation “Yevgen Svitlychny” / “Eugene Svitlychny” Ukrainian: Світли́чний Євге́н Іва́нович; born June 1, 1948, in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR) is a contemporary Ukrainian artist. Svitlychnyi graduated from the Kyiv Art Institute in 1973 (Department of Painting), where he studied with teachers and mentors, K. Trokhymenko and A. Plamenitsky. From 1974 he lived and worked in Kharkiv. For the last 20 years he has been teaching at the Department of Fine and Decorative Arts of the Faculty of Architecture of Kharkiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

Since 1980 has been an active participant in international and national exhibitions. Svitlychnyi’s first personal exhibition took place in Kyiv in 1986. The first publication of his works was in the dissident’s so-called “samvydaw” magazine “Kafedra” Part 9, 1989. He has had numerous solo and joint exhibitions to date and has been an artist-in-residence at Burren College of Art since April 2022.