The recently opened Pinchuk Art Center will not only house Pinchuk's extensive personal collection but is also expected to broaden Ukraine's access to, and appreciation of, contemporary art.
Are our hands tied in viewing a space like this? Not just a walk in and look see, the space demands more of you in its surveillance style entrance, smart frontage; you enter and are accounted for. There are no friendly welcomes, only cold mirror-like surfaces but more than one gallery houses art in this way, almost snap frozen, refrigerator style, anti-rustic bohemia.
Kyiv already has a rich cultural heritage, one that conveys history and fascinating insights into its people; this will only enhance that richness. Opened in September this year, the space has new, shiny quality evocative of a new showroom selling merchandise!
White is big. Design-conscious individuals will enjoy the clean lines and minimal furniture evoking the chic-style of designer homes. This to some may be a bit cliche'd, the very modern museum with pretentious attention to 'surface," perhaps at times forgetting the art?
 This world-class contemporary space can be viewed as pretentious but also cutting edge in its appearance. Designed by Phillipe Chiambaretta, the space has been transformed from an old building inside with new materials and contemporary forms, the old meeting the new. The space is an art piece in itself.
A heavily guarded entrance confronts you with electronic surveillance. Bags and coats are checked as you enter and then travel up to two floors of art. There is added security in museums worldwide so this is not new but certainly it may restrict some individuals who are shopping in the center from taking a look.
A maze of rooms meets you; the space is not so easy to navigate because of the curtains and passages leading to individual artworks. If you are used to other international contemporary spaces this will not faze you. It is a little bit like negotiating a computer game and steering yourself around sticking close to edges and doorways.
There are stairs or lifts between floors that link the two main levels making up the gallery. Sharp angles adjacent to each other lead to interesting dialogues between art pieces. There are stools and seats throughout for musing and resting tired feet.
There is coldness inside like one expects to find in an office building, something very clean and sanitary. White is everywhere like a giant whitewash has occurred; you are literally whited out.
The white cube style of many modern art spaces is here in all its glory. It can be intimidating to some who like a more rustic space but this does display the work, sculpture, photography, painting, and prints to advantage.
 The cafe on the top floor is a "must see." In a city that loves traditions, there is already a developing tradition of Kyivans going there just to get their pictures taken against white walls and plush, leather designer seats. The toilets are also novelties, blue Perspex boxes for boys and pink ones for girls with fountain- like taps that turn on when pressed.
Pinchuk's foundation is based on the work of a new generation of artists, artists of a newly independent Ukraine, independent since 1991. Its aim is set an example to future art in this region and wider Eastern Europe. This is the first international collection incorporating Ukrainian artists like Arsen Savadov, Oleg Kulik, Illia Chichkan, Alexander Gnilitsky alongside international artists Sarah Morris, Olafur Eliasson, Subodh Gupta, Xavier Veilhan and many more who comment on their experiences through their work. The exhibition is dynamic, at times controversial in its message with punchy statements about current situations and past ones.
On the first level you feel at first that you are entering a disco. It sounds like frantic, pulsating, piped music, as you would hear in a shopping mall, and then you realize it is coming from one particular artwork behind a curtain. On a video screen two live rabbits jive and contort to this fast-paced beat, their heads and bodies flopping about as two gloved hands manipulate their ducking and weaving under strobe lights. The work is suitably titled "Puppeteers" (2001), part of Ukrainian artist, Ilya Chichken's animal series entitled "Zoo;" a throw back to the restrictive conventions of the past.
Coal miners in tutus! Yes they are actually wearing them in this large, beautifully produced color photographic installation by Arsen Savadov, called "Donbas Chocolate," (1998). Is this a comment on the worker and the culture of the past?
 Video can be bland, monotonous yet equally exciting, but attention spans usually run thin, allowing your curiosity to keep you there a bit longer with some of the projections on display.
The "Infrared room" (2004), by Belgian artist Carsten Holler, is another exciting and interactive piece for all viewers at the gallery.
You suddenly realize: you are an art piece in this contemporary dialogue - and that is what sets the Pinchuk Center apart as the gallery that may lead Ukraine into a greater appreciation of the diversity of contemporary art.
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