Vsevolod Nesterenko, also known as Hehe, is a Ukrainian contemporary artist working across drawing, painting, sticker art, video, sculpture and participatory art projects. His practice explores freedom, overconsumption, everyday absurdity, memory, and the psychological experience of living through war.
Nesterenko began drawing in Kharkiv in 2022, on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While sheltering from bombardment, drawing became a way to confront memory, process a radically altered reality, and return to an early desire to make art. His first body of work, Minicitizens, was developed through digital illustration in early 2023. The collection brought together characters shaped by fear, emotions, personal memories and reflections on war, while also helping raise charitable donations and communicate the Ukrainian experience to international audiences.
In late 2023, Nesterenko expanded his practice into oil painting, translating his characters from the digital realm into physical space. This shift allowed him to create an environment populated by his own figures—companions through a time marked by uncertainty, isolation and displacement.
Between 2024 and 2025, the artist further developed his visual language through new materials, forms and concepts. Art became a means of communicating beyond language and connecting with audiences internationally. During this period, he introduced the Art for Food collection.
Nesterenko’s recent works address the continuing reality of living and working in Ukraine under daily shelling. Series including Fear. Laughter. Disappeared, Forms, and Cement ta tisto examine fear, endurance, absurdity and the emotional contradictions of wartime life. Through painting, video and sculpture, he reflects on contemporary reality while developing an expanding, deeply personal artistic vocabulary.
His work has been presented internationally in Ukraine, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, the United States, the Philippines and Romania.
Selected Exhibitions
- Minicitizens on Tour — Solo Exhibition, Annie Klaus Gallery, Cluj, Romania, 2026
- 4×4 Group Show — Nevada Fine Arts, Las Vegas, USA, 2026
- If Trees Could Talk — International Art Biennale, Philippines, 2026
- The 5th Naples Paste-Up Festival — Naples, Italy, 2025
- MURF / MURW Art Festival: “Andre the Giant” — Tilburg, Netherlands, 2025
- Stick It Fest 4 — Bordeaux, France, 2025
- Glasgow Children’s Hospital Elephantastic Charity Art Auction — Glasgow, Scotland, 2025
- MURF / MURW Art Festival — Tilburg, Netherlands, 2024
- Polotno Doli — Kyiv, Ukraine, 2024
- Art Oasis — Kyiv, Ukraine, 2024
Recognition
- Artists at Risk 2024 Nomination — PEN America, 2024
