ASTIAN REY
Born in 1987 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
In 2010, graduated from Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, Faculty of Fine Arts.
In his work, Astian Rey explores the human image, ancient myths, and mystical symbols. The aesthetics of brutalism, with its rough welding seams, reflect honesty and a rejection of idealization in his creations.
At the same time, the artist develops his own musical project «Codex Reptilius» and composes in the styles of Heavy Metal and Ambient.
His works are held in private collections in Ukraine, the USA, and Europe.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My artistic practice is based on working with metal as a metaphor for inner transformation. By creating sculptures, I primarily depict my own inner changes — processes occurring in my subconscious that find reflection in material, image, and form.
Metal resists, yields, and transforms under the influence of heat and force — just as the human subconscious responds to life’s trials. Cracks and seams on its surface reveal the vulnerability of solid steel under human impact, symbolizing the influence of life experience and environment on our mind and body.
Writing music is also part of my creative process, allowing me to reflect on life experience and express it in a more multifaceted form, uniting sound and matter into a single whole.
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS:
2025 «HEAR THE SILENCE», gallery Imagine Point, Kiev, Ukraine
2022 «FORM. SYMBOL. TIME», gallery Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine
2021 «GOLD AND RUST», gallery Portal11, Kiev, Ukraine
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2025 «ART KYIV FAIR», Lavra gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2024 «АРТ МАRКЕТ. Ukrainian Design Week», Lavra gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2024 «UART MEDIA FEST 2024», Gulliver, Kiev, Ukraine
2023 «UART MEDIA FEST 2023», Gulliver, Kiev, Ukraine
2022 «...AND GET UP», gallery Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine
2022 «THE UKRAINIAN VR PAVILION IN THE METAVERSE», Paris+ par Art Basel, Paris, France
2022 «UKRAINE is» ART MARKET BUDAPEST 2022, Hungary, Budapest
2022 «DANTE VISIONI», Modern Art Research Institute of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kiev
2021 «PORTAL ART PRIZE 2021 / What is blue?», gallery Portal11, Kiev, Ukraine
2021 «ART CARNIVAL», Ostracá gallery, Hurghada, Egypt
2021 «#365daysafter», Ukraine, Croatia, Portugal, and China
2021 «HUMAN WAS HERE!», Virtual Museum of the Anthropocene, Poland
2020 «REMEMBRANCE SPECIES 2020 EXHIBITION», Lunetario Editorial, Puebla, Mexica
2020 «PORTAL ART PRIZE 2020 / Wonderful new world», gallery Portal11, Kiev, Ukraine
2020 «ORANGE EXHIBIT», Online Art Gallery The Artist's Circle, Philadelphia, USA
2020 «ONE DAY AFTER», Museum of Kyiv history, Kiev, Ukraine
2020 «MADATAC»( ARTEFACT:Chernobyl 33), Madrid, Spain
2020 «NEONLITIC2», National Museum of Romanian History (Bucharest, Romania) / Vernissage Culture Center (Chernivtsi, Ukraine)
2020 «WHO AM I TODAY», Art gallery "Mytets", Kiev, Ukraine
2019 «ALCHEMY OF MOTIVATION», Modern Art Research Institute of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kiev
2019 «GOOD LIFE», Art gallery "Mytets", Kiev, Ukraine
2019 «BURNING MAN», Black Rock, Nevada, USA
2019 «ARTEFACT: CHERNOBYL 33», River station, Kiev, Ukraine
2019 «POSSIBLE - NOT POSSIBLE», Museum of Kyiv history, Kiev, Ukraine
2019 «PORTAL ART PRIZE 2019», gallery Portal11, Kiev, Ukraine
2019 «INTELLIGENCE IS FASHIONABLE», Taras Shevchenko National Museum, Kiev, Ukraine
2018 «Я SINОПТИК», AkT Art Space, Kiev, Ukraine
2018 «EXPOSURE» AkT Art Space, Kiev, Ukraine
2018 «IFASHION-ART», Museum of Kyiv history, Kiev, Ukraine
2018 ART SEASONS «ART WINTER CONTEMPORARY», M17 Contemporary Art Center, Kiev, Ukraine
2017 «MECHANISM OF EVOLUTION», Modern Art Research Institute of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kiev
2017 ART SEASONS «ART AUTUMN CONTEMPORARY», M17 Contemporary Art Center, Kiev, Ukraine
2017 «FETISHX0», AkT Art Space, Kiev, Ukraine
2017 GOGOLFEST, Kiev, Ukraine
2017 ART SEASONS «ART SUMMER CONTEMPORARY», M17 Contemporary Art Center, Kiev, Ukraine
AWARDS:
2021 «PORTAL ART PRIZE 2021 / What is blue?», gallery Portal11, Kiev, Ukraine
2021 «ART CARNIVAL», Ostracá gallery, Hurghada, Egypt.
2020 «PORTAL ART PRIZE 2020 / Wonderful new world?», Kiev, Ukraine.
2017 BLOCKCHAIN ART HACHATHON 2017, Kiev, Ukraine.