Making Hope The Highest Form Of Art: Italian Painter Brightens Ukraine's War-Scarred Communities

A dove with an olive branch painted in Ukraine's national colors stands in sharp contrast to a burned out Russian tank in the village of Dmytrivka, outside Kyiv, on January 30.

Urban artist Tvboy, the pseudonym used by Salvatore Benintende, visited Ukraine, where his works offer messages of hope, peace, and freedom for the war-scarred country.

 

A woman and a child look at a mural by artist Tvboy of a girl painting a peace symbol on a wall of a school in Bucha.

An exponent of the Italian Neopop movement, Tvboy wrote of his experience: "Only by visiting Ukraine have I truly understood the strength and bravery of these people."
 

A peace dove created by Tvboy adorns a wall in Irpin.

"As a tribute to the victims of this war, I wanted to leave a sign of my passage through the streets of Kyiv, Bucha, and Irpin, cities scarred by Russian attacks," he says. 

Another mural in Bucha by Tvboy shows a child painting an anti-war slogan.

"The message contained in each artwork is one of rebirth and hope, wishing that the conflict will come to an end as soon as possible," Tvboy wrote on his official web page.

Anastasia, 4, mimics a mural in Bucha of a child staying warm. The Palermo-born artist Tvboy says he's inspired by American pop art and prefers to work in public spaces.

A man walks by a mural in Bucha of an older woman stitching together an EU and Ukrainian flag. The picture is outside a makeshift aid station that provides heating and electricity during blackouts -- so-called "points of invincibility."  


 

Another mural -- that of a man and a young child with a balloon -- catches the eye of a man and a young child on the wall of a "points of invincibility" center in Bucha.

Another mural by Tvboy shows a little girl and a soldier on the war-scarred House of Culture in Irpin that was damaged during the Russian invasion and occupation.