Yuriy Musatov is a Ukrainian artist who, after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022, was forced to relocate to Spain. In 2024, he received the 2nd Prize at the International Biennale of Ceramics in Manises for his work Saint Alien. Musatov was born in the small town of Konotop in northern Ukraine, where he studied at a local children’s art school. He later attended the Sumy Higher School of Arts, where he was introduced to ceramics. From 2002 to 2008, he studied at the Lviv National Academy of Arts.
Before the outbreak of war, Musatov lived and worked in Kyiv. He taught ceramic art to young talents and organized exhibitions for his students. In 2019, his solo exhibition Invasion was held in Kyiv, where he presented his groundbreaking Aliens series for the first time—works that marked a turning point in his artistic journey. Invasion was an exhibition born out of a premonition of something inevitable.
Since 2017, he has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) in Geneva and the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. Musatov actively participates in international symposia, biennales, and group exhibitions. Since 2012, he has held over 20 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 100 group exhibitions, including Migration(s) at the Musée Ariana – Swiss Museum for Ceramics and Glass (Geneva, Switzerland), Yingge IAC Members’ Exhibition – New Orientalia at the Yingge Ceramics Museum (New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2018), the 18th Biennal de Ceràmica d’Esplugues (Spain), and the XII Biennial of Artistic Ceramics (Portugal).
Over the past seven years, several Musatov’s ceramic works have been acquired by major international museums and collections, including the Musée Ariana (Switzerland), the Ceramics Museum in Ludwigsburg (Germany), the FuLe International Ceramic Art Museum (FLICAM, China), the National Museum of Slovenia, the Aveiro Municipal Museum (Portugal), the National Open-Air Museum of Ukrainian Pottery (Ukraine), and the Panevėžys Civic Art Gallery (Lithuania).
Visit Yuriy Musatov’s Instagram page.
Featured work
Selected works, 2023-2024
My work emerges at the intersection of personal experiences, global upheavals, and universal questions of existence. In my practice, I explore themes of gender identity, the concept of ancient alien contact, and humanity’s place in the cosmos, intertwining myths, history, and science fiction.
A central idea in my projects is the notion of humanity as part of a grand experiment or as descendants of settlers from distant worlds. I aim to provoke the viewer to reflect: can we trace our origins to the stars, and how would that reshape our understanding of ourselves?
In my project “My Aliens,” I explore representations of other life forms as mirrors of our own nature. These beings I create symbolize not only the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence but also reflect our collective consciousness, fears, and aspirations. This project also addresses the theme of the language and cultural barrier, which I experience as an immigrant. Like my “aliens,” I find myself in an environment where words are not always understood, and communication becomes an exploration of new forms of expression. I am fascinated by how linguistic isolation shapes perceptions of the other, influences identity, and fosters new ways of understanding the world.
