Michael Boss Releases Fundraising Print for Ukraine

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Michael Boss, "Ukrainian Kozaks send a letter to Putin," 2014

digital print produced 2022, 18 x 24”

Michael Boss, a Winnipeg artist of Ukrainian descent, is partnering with Winnipeg's Martha Street Studio to produce a limited edition print to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross to assist victims of the Russian invasion.

Boss is releasing 75 digital prints of his 2014 drawing, Ukrainian Kozaks send a letter to Putin, which he created after Russia invaded Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. 

The drawing is a contemporary version of a well-known 1891 painting by Ilya Repin, The Zaporyzhye Cossacks Writing a Mocking Letter to the Turkish Sultan. It relates to a 1676 battle where the Cossacks repelled the forces of an encroaching army. In response to demands that they subjugate themselves, they wrote a scornful reply filled with “derisory obscenities.”

The painting focuses on the fierce Cossacks, gathered around a makeshift table just beyond the battlefield, laughing and trying to top each other’s insults for the letter. Boss’s version features Ukrainian Kozak bikers employing equally colourful language in a letter to Putin.

The numbered archival inkjet prints on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® paper measure 18 inches by 24 inches and cost $250. The gallery says at least $200 from each sale will be donated, depending on production costs.

To  purchase, contact Martha Street Studio at director@printmakers.mb.ca or phone 204-779-6253.

Source: Martha Street Studio