“The Power Mykola Possessed.” An Exhibition of Illustrations by Mykola Leonovych Opens at INDEX

On 19 September, the INDEX space hosted the opening of "Textures," an exhibition of illustrations by Mykola Leonovych.

Mykola Leonovych is a poet, illustrator and soldier who went missing on April 27, 2023, during a combat mission. His works were first publicly exhibited at the Ukrainian PEN space in early 2025. Last week, his exhibition opened in Lviv. 

“Often, families of the missing are left with the awareness that they just have to wait, but that is impossible… That’s when I decided to turn to the power Mykola possessed — to art,” shared the artist’s wife, Maryna Alexandrovych, at the opening.

"Textures" features sketches from Leonovych’s sketchbooks, each accompanied by his own poem. Talented as he is, Mykola Leonovych never sought to share his works publicly. His disappearance and the first exhibition of his works revealed to colleagues how diverse he is as an artist.

“Mykola always had a gift for finding the fragile line between expression and conciseness,” noted book designer and Leonovych’s friend, Andriy Lesiv.

The exhibition will run until the end of October. Everyone is welcome to visit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 16:00 to 18:00 at 33 Ivana Franka Street, office 3.