Artist Statement
Stratum is my perspective on the urban landscape — a terrain woven from waste, discarded objects, and human traces. For me, trash is not just refuse. It is the city’s stratum, layered with forgotten moments and personal meaning.
Every object I find on the street is a fragment of life. Torn from its original context, it becomes part of a new composition. My art speaks for itself. I don’t give answers. I invite abstract meaning, leaving space for each viewer to find their own sense within the work.
In my practice, I act as a mediator between people and everyday life — the familiar and overlooked. I take ordinary materials, often ignored or thrown away, and transform them into visual poems. My works are like haiku: small, but deeper than they seem.
Each piece is a mosaic of meaning. Despite their simple form, they carry emotional and philosophical weight. I speak about complex things in simple words. And I cannot stop creating.
My work is defined by process and material. I carefully select found objects and give them new life and purpose. They are not just components — they are carriers of memory, layered into the narrative of human experience.
Bio
Born in 1999 in Okhtyrka, Ukraine, Illya Skubak is a self-taught artist working with found materials, sculpture, and assemblage. His practice responds to themes of war, survival, and transformation through the use of street-collected objects, industrial fragments, and overlooked everyday materials.
Beginning his artistic journey at 17, Skubak initially experimented with shaped canvases before turning to metalwork and welding during the 2020 lockdown. His background as a mechanic shaped his early aesthetic, bringing industrial rawness into his visual language.
After being displaced by war in 2022, his practice evolved into urgent, large-scale constructions using car parts, signage, and urban debris. These works, often created under conditions of scarcity, reflect on damage, memory, and adaptation.
Skubak has worked across Ukraine, Georgia, France, and now lives in Bangkok, where he continues to create layered, sculptural works from found materials — building new meaning from what others leave behind.
Academic background or training.
2023–2024 School of Art and Design, Saint-Étienne, France (Briefly enrolled)
Selected solo and group exhibitions
2023 · Wunderkinder, joint exhibition with Kadi Malek, Rockefeller Center for Contemporary Arts, Dresden, Germany
2023 · Cargo, solo exhibition, Maudi Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia
2022 · Untitled Exhibition, former paint and brick factory, Lviv, Ukraine
2022 · Sticker Book Presentation, Anzenberger Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2021 · Metal-receiver, solo exhibition, Art House Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Earlier Projects (2020–2021) → View more
Publications, projects, and other highlights
2024 · Published in Student Journal, Tama Art University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
2022 · Local Sticker Book, Platform for Artist Books, Berlin, Germany
2021 · Local Sticker Book, Platform for Artist Books, Kyiv, Ukraine
2021 · Article published about exhibition, Roksolana Newspaper, Okhtyrka, Ukraine