Jury Rupin — Gallery


The Vremia (Time) Group (1970s)

In 1965, the Regional Photo Club was opened and the Vremia (Time) Group formed within their non-conformist artistic movement inside the club, making it one of the most important art centers in Kharkiv.

The Vremia Group was founded by Jury Rupin and Evgeniy Pavlov in 1971, and showcased the start of the modernism revival in Kharkiv. The first members of the group were Oleg Maliovany, Boris Mikhailov, Gennadiy Tubalev, Oleksandr Suprun, and Oleksandr Sitnichenko; 18 months later, they were joined by Anatoliy Makiyenko. Painter Oleksandr Mishchan and writer Vasyl Mishchan, whose surrealistic books were an example of the unique Kharkiv "samizdat" technique, were both close to the Vremia Group.

The Vremia Group searched for new aesthetics. They experimented with themes and printing techniques, trying to fight the conservative, "gray" state of life in Soviet Union. Various old and new techniques were combined to make photos. According to Evgeniy Pavlov, at a time when photography and art were seen as separate things, the Vremia Group's main task was to "bridge the gap." In 1970s, Kharkiv photographers actively exchanged their photographic art with Lithuanian photographers, sharing each other's visual languages.

In 1975, the Vremia Group members joined the board of the Regional Photo Club. The government didn't like their avant-garde tendencies, labeled their activity "wrong," and eventually shut down the club in 1975 or 1976. Nevertheless, the group continued as a community of like-minded artists. According to one article, their fellowship lasted 10 years after the Photo Club closed. Another article stated that the Vremia Group stopped working as an art union in 1979. After the Vremia Group stopped its work as a union, the Kharkiv art space fell quiet until the mid-1980s.

Kharkiv Girl

Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1977

Two and the sea, 1978

Two and the sea

Crimea, Ukraine, 1978

Us, 1971


Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1971

Anxiety, 1973


Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1973

Eternity, 1978



Through passage, 1983

Through passage

Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1983

The fight, 1976

The fight

Vilnius, Lithuania, 1976

Act XIX, 1975



Lilac in the fog, 1977

Lilac in the fog


The gorge, 1976

The gorge


Night games at a cemetery, 1973

Night games at a cemetery


November 7th, 1985

November 7th

Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1985

Bathhouse (5), 1972

Bathhouse (5)

Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1972

Small round table, 1977

Small round table

Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1977

The rock, 1983

The rock

Crimea, Ukraine, 1983

Imagination, 1986



Bicycle (3), 1973

Bicycle (3)


Naked in the straw, 1977

Naked in the straw, 1977


At the sea, 1982

At the sea

Crimea, Ukraine, 1982

Telephone booths, 1975

Telephone booths