ISSA Ukraine \ Three years of war did not stop the sculpture symposium

The 14th Carpathian International Sculpture Symposium , and ISSA Ukraine, took place from June 1 to 14

 in the mountains of Transcarpathia, Ukraine. The workshop was organized by the Pro Arte-Munkács Association 

and run by sculptor Peter Matl - the project is part of the Carpathian Sculpture Routes program. 

This year's event was held for the fourth time at the "Flor das Poloninas" sanatorium, which offers ideal conditions

 for the creation of works of art. As Margarita Zahumenova, Deputy General Director of "Constellation" LLC, 

emphasized, the event "transforms the venue into an open-air gallery, attracting the attention of visitors, tourists 

nd local residents! ". Young people and students will also have the opportunity to observe the artist's creative 

process up close, witnessing how stone blocks are transformed into magnificent sculptures over the course of 

two weeks. 

The works created during the event will become part of the growing collection of the Carpathian Sculpture Route - a 

cultural and tourism route spanning more than 250 kilometers and comprising 126 public sculptures that contribute

to the region's artistic heritage and identity. Identity.

In its early stages, the route passed through the districts of Mukachevo, Svaljava, Vorovets, Uzhhorod, Berehove, 

Hust and Tyazhiv. Eventually, the program was extended beyond the region.In 2018, with the support of the 

Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the project was extended to Skole in the Lviv region as well as to 

Hungary's border areas.

This sculpture symposium hosted several artists: Natalia Leykina (Ukraine), Éva Czibor (Hungary), Eugen Petri 

(Romania), Piotr Bies (Poland), Thierry Ferreira (Portugal), and Sabrina Coco (Mexico). 

Among them is the work of Portuguese artist Thierry Ferreira, Poetic Fusion, which measures 200 x 60 x 60 cm 

and is carved out of sandstone. This sculpture prompts a reflection on the boundaries of contemporary sculptural 

practice and the dialog between man, matter and space. At the same time he explains his artwork as follows: 

"Poetic Fusion" is part of the "Ancient Stone Series". This work challenges traditional sculpture by questioning

 its symbolic code and its relationship to time and space. It eschews conventional or monumental logic, and 

presents itself as a tool to stimulate thought and contemplation. 

Its three-dimensional character is explored in a fragmented, open-ended manner, inviting the viewer to physically 

engage with the work and discover multiple interpretations - none of which reveal the work in its entirety. As a raw

 material, stone assumes a symbolic and philosophical role: it is not only an unprocessed substance, but also an 

archive of memory, a record of time, and a source of reflection. As the artist puts it, the sculpture "becomes an active 

archaeological space where the past and the present coexist in a state of constant renewal". Through its abstract 

forms and flat, organic surfaces, the work eschews direct presentation in favor of a poetic, sensory-rich possibility 

for contemplation. 

Its dialog with the surrounding space is also crucial. The sculpture transforms the physical location into a symbolic 

territory, where the forms provoke a reflection on the tension between nature and the constructed world, between 

chaos and order, between the fragment and the whole. As the artist puts it, the work reflects "the coexistence between 

the ephemeral and the eternal, the material and the meaningful, the visible and the invisible". In a time of uncertainty 

and disruption of normality-"where seemingly normal daily life is intertwined with the brutal spectacle of war"-Poetic 

Fusion incorporates twisted forms and distorted fragments, evoking the tension between the ephemeral and the

 eternal, between the visible and the invisible. distorted fragments, evoking a "new imaginative reality that draws 

reality in, transforming our space-time into a kind of suspended time, where the expectation of a normal daily life 

silences voices, smiles disappear, and the notion of the future becomes hollow."

Materials Providers: Pete Matl, ISSA Ukraine Member 

 Thierry Ferreira, ISSA Portugal Member

Chief Editor: Liu Qin

English Version Editor: Sun Ya’nan

Legal Advisor: Tao Ranting