CONCEPTUAL INSTALLATION IN CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ART OF UKRAINE (1990s – 2000s): ARCHITECTONICS AND MODES OF IMPLEMENTING THE CONCEPTUAL APPROACH

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theoretical examination of the phenomenon of conceptual installation within the context of contemporary visual art and to the analysis of its architectonics and conceptualization based on examples of Ukrainian artistic practices. The relevance of the study lies in the absence of an established terminological definition of conceptual installation in Ukrainian art-historical discourse, as well as the need to systematize analytical approaches to installations created in accordance with the principles of the conceptual approach. In the article, the conceptual approach is considered as a methodological foundation of installation art that determines the mode of forming an artistic statement, the principles of spatial organization, and the nature of viewer engagement. Based on the theoretical works of S. LeWitt, J. Kosuth, and L. Lippard, the key characteristics of conceptual installation are outlined, including the priority of the idea over form, the dematerialization of the art object, the autonomy of the idea, the planned structure of the work, and the predominance of intellectual engagement of the viewer over emotional or empathetic perception. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the architectonics of conceptual installation as a system of interrelated spatial, object-based, and media elements functioning within a temporal dimension and subordinated to the realization of a pre-formulated concept. In this context, installation is examined not as a set of material components, but as a mental model in which space functions as a carrier of meaning. Using examples of Ukrainian object-based installations and media installations, the article analyzes the specific features of implementing the conceptual approach within the context of contemporary Ukrainian visual art. The study demonstrates that conceptual installation in contemporary Ukrainian art functions as a form of critical and analytical artistic expression capable of addressing social, cultural, and existential issues through various principles of articulating the author’s concept.