Ukrainian Gas Entrepreneur Invested $7M in a Gallery With Banksy and Marchuk Works

Ukrainian gas entrepreneur Zinoviy Kozytskyi invested Hr.271 million (almost $7 million) to open the Zenyk Art Gallery (ZAG) in Lviv, which features works by top Ukrainian artists and a Banksy graffiti piece, Forbes Ukraine reported.

Kozytskyi named the gallery after his grandson, who studied cultural studies and passed away from cancer in 2024, just months before the gallery’s opening.

For two decades, Kozytskyi built one of Ukraine’s largest private gas extraction companies. 

The gas magnate’s office is filled with paintings from his personal collection, which includes around 600 works, Forbes reported.

On Feb. 19, ZAG opened “The Little Prince” exhibition. The exhibition is dedicated to children and is inspired by the novella of the same name by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It includes 62 works by prominent Ukrainian artists such as Ivan Marchuk, Anatoliy Kryvolap, and Oleh Tistol.

The exhibition also features Banksy’s graffiti piece “Woman in a Gas Mask,” which the anonymous British street artist painted in Hostomel, Kyiv Region, after the town was liberated from Russian forces in April 2022.

According to Forbes, Banksy’s artwork was transported to Zenyk Art Gallery under armed escort from Kyiv.

In the first three weeks, the gallery attracted over 17,000 visitors. Ukrainian art figures praised ZAG for engaging politicians and business leaders in contemporary art, Forbes wrote.

Kozytskyi repurposed a partially completed hotel into a 2,500-square-meter art space. The transformation cost Hr.122 million ($3.1 million), while exterior installations and sculptures added another Hr.58 million ($1.5 million), Forbes reported.

A 3-meter sculpture of The Little Prince was installed on the gallery’s rooftop.

Kozytskyi’s gallery also invested Hr.78 million ($2 million) as collateral for leased artworks, including Banksy’s “Woman in a Gas Mask,” valued at Hr.9 million UAH ($230,000).

Additionally, Kozytskyi bought artworks worth Hr.9 million for his gallery. The most expensive pieces in the exhibition are “The Moon Rose Over the Dnipro” by Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk and “Horse. Night Fog” by Anatoliy Kryvolap. These pieces were also transported under armed escort, the media outlet wrote.

The first artwork was provided by a former US investment consultant, who purchased it in 2024 for $300,000. The second was priced at $250,000 by the artist.

ZAG is fully accessible to all visitors. Information panels are available in Braille, sign language translations are also provided, and tactile relief copies of paintings are available.

Kozytskyi’s vision for the future of Zenyk Art Gallery

According to Forbes, despite multimillion-dollar investments, Kozytskyi does not expect financial returns. Ticket prices range from Hr.150 to Hr.300 ($3.85 to $7.70). While guided tours cost up to Hr. 3,000 ($73). The gallery generates revenue through workshops, art therapy sessions, and event rentals.

Auctions are also part of the gallery’s plans. Since 2022, Kozytskyi’s foundation has held six international auctions. During an exhibition in Australia in February 2024, 90% of the works were sold, Khrystyna Beregovska, head of the charitable foundation Kozytskyi, told Forbes.

According to her, 50% of the sales go to the artist, while the remaining 50% is used to fund scholarships for students at the Lviv National Academy of Arts. The next auction is scheduled for May 2025.

The upcoming exhibition at Zenyk Art Gallery will feature works by German artist Albrecht Dürer, French graphic art, and Dutch still lifes from the 17th to 19th centuries.

From gas to art: Kozytskyi’s career 

Originally trained as a psychiatrist, 67-year-old Kozytskyi transitioned from medicine to the gas industry in the early 2000s. He began gas extraction operations in 2004, and his company, Zakhidnadraservice, remains the largest private gas production enterprise in Western Ukraine.

After the full-scale war began, Zakhidnadraservice drilled 12 new wells and discovered a new gas field in Ukraine, Forbes reported.

While most of Ukraine’s gas industry leaders are oligarchs, Kozytskyi represents greenfield companies that emerged in Ukraine from scratch and without political corruption. 

According to Forbes Ukraine, Kozytskyi is also involving his two sons in business leadership, turning Zakhidnadraservice into a family enterprise.

He has been the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration since 2020. Kozytskyi also owns 10 green power plants, which generated Hr.655 million ($15.8 million) in revenue last year, and controls the Nextbike bike-sharing service.

In 2022, Kozytskyi established a charitable foundation to support and promote Ukrainian artists.