Contemporary mosaic exhibition
Mosaic Exhibition
“Mosaic collections. The islands”
March 06-29, Russia. Moscow
The grand opening of the First Russian exhibition of contemporary mosaic “Mosaic collections. ISLANDS» taken place in the gallery “Belyaevo” in Moscow at March 6, 2020.
The ceremony was opened by the main organizer of the exhibition, Irina Kuchmenko.
The opening of the mosaic exhibition was held at a large gathering of the audience, bringing together not only professional artists, but also many art admirers.
It is worth noting that events of this magnitude in the world of Russian mosaic have not occurred for quite some time. The exhibition has become a real celebration for artists working in this technique.
Most mosaics are still considered in connection with the object on which it is located. Such subordination, the dependence of the mosaic on the place seems familiar and natural. Mosaics that we can observe in our natural habitat – the city – are mostly crowned with an artistic image of monumental architectural objects, whether it be temples, palaces or pavilions of metro stations.
This conceptual symbiosis of mosaic and architecture, the connection of the mosaic with the donor object, is devoted to the introductory part of the exposition, which represents a historical excursion into the Soviet period of mosaic art. Here you can see reproductions of mosaics created at various times by leading Soviet artists. These mosaics can be seen live on the streets of major Russian cities and, of course, in the Moscow subway.
In the main part of the exhibition the organizers tried to show a full picture of what is happening in Russian modern mosaic, paying tribute to both the traditional understanding of mosaics as the organic part of the architecture, and its new perception as a conceptual self-sufficient object.
Each artist participating in the project is a bright creative individuality, a combination of a natural gift, artistic method and style. Every mosaicist can be considered as an island in the vast ocean of the world, “terra incognita”, containing the secret of his personality, features of his spirit that belong to him alone.
The exposition is a series personal presentation of mosaic artists, conditionally united by one space based on the conceptual artists perception of mosaics. Mosaics are made in various techniques, which are the visiting cards of each author, his individual language of communication with the world.
The choice of exhibition organizers is not accidental. One of the central parts of the exposition is occupied by the capacious works of the luminaries of Russian mosaics Alexander Kornoukhov, an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, who revealed to the modern world the new face of Soviet and Russian mosaics.
His simple, at the same time unexpected, but intuitively understandable mosaic statements leave not only a clear and indelible mark on the path of the mosaic, as art, but also set unknown to the end landmarks for its development for years to come.
The mosaics of Alexander Kornoukhov are adjoined by mosaics of the subtle philosopher Felix Bukh, who leads the audience with his mosaics into the world of biblical stories, ancient legends and traditions. The artist’s unique technique – a combination of various materials – deaf natural natural stones and bright smalt – creates a unique artistic environment, providing an unforgettable expressive effect on the viewer.
The mosaics of Felix Buch are close in spirit to the living and spiritualized heroes of the mosaics of Anna Zamula, exposing the weightless soul of fragments of rough stone from under the veil of a soft feminine look. We can feel this energy as a medicine to restore lost strength and preserve our soul.
The mosaic works of the monumental artist Alina Batalina sound like a romantic note in this mosaic orchestra. Alina is a painter, she makes mosaics, murals and watercolors. Her mosaics are a universe of hints that intrigue and carry away in search of a solution, exposing artifacts of fragments as clues to a sophisticated viewer.
One cannot ignore mosaic works of bright and unexpected Boris Zinkevich, who dared to bring playfulness, dreaminess and sincerity into the rebellious and severe stone material. Traveling to different parts of the world, inspired by moments of contemplation of nature, the artist created in his mind images that were subsequently embodied in mosaics using materials collected on trips.
Stained glass works by Anna Butina is a whole era of the Russian contemporary art stained glass window, which, thanks in large part to Anna Butina, received a new impetus for development, gaining modernity and not losing its sophistication.
Her mosaics are a logical continuation of her experience in building harmony from pieces of colored glass.
Alexey Zhuchkov is an artist who can afford both monumental temple mosaics and mosaic panels of easel format. Traditions and modernity – the most faithful epithet to his work. His works in temple buildings breathe the air of history, his contemporary mosaics are a chain of events from the creation of the basis to the finalization of the impact with color, shape, geometry.
Maria Skurikhina is one of the followers of the philosophy of the unity of the mosaic and the surrounding space, their inextricable connection and interpenetration. Concrete plays an important role among her favorite materials. Maria Skurikhina is trying to draw a new facet of the collaboration of two self-sufficient environments, solving the topic of the relationship between the whole and the particular.
Apart are the work of Sergei Karlov. This self-taught artist from Altai draws his inspiration from ancient Khakass legends, transmitting with his mosaics the ancient truth of stone through petroglyphic messages to the modern world. Each of its mosaics is a story breathing the sacred spirit of eternity
A separate hall is dedicated to the mosaic works of artists who preach mosaic as an independent conceptual object, where there are no barriers to ideas, imagination, materials and their combinations. Their work primarily affects the emotional, intuitive perception of a person, unexpectedly and clearly revealing the meanings hidden in the amazing harmony of smalt tesseraes, glass fragments, chipped stone, as well as other not-too-expected materials.
Among the exhibitors of this hall is the unpredictable Irina Kuchmenko, who took for her mosaics the motto “intuitive mosaic”, which each time are an revelation for her audience, since they rarely bear the stamp of a previous mosaic. Her mosaics are celebration of color, incompatible compatibility. Mosaic of Irina does not gravitate to the wall, but builds the future space around itself.
Here are mosaics of romantic and subtle Tatyana Dubovskaya. The delicate colors of its mosaics brings serenity and carry us away into a magical fairytale forest. A fairytale forest where you can endlessly enjoy overflows of uneven chips of noble smalt, a game of color, light and shadow, wandering around the mosaic, trying to find the ultimate harmony.
The mosaic artist Julia Pukhareva boldly experiments with various forms and materials, remaining elegant and sophisticated.
Anton Strizhenko is a Moscow-based professional artist working in the genre of contemporary mosaic. He uses unexpected materials in his works, playing shades of mirror tiles with their combinations with the base.
The variety of contemporary mosaics is endless. Technique, taking its roots in the most ancient artistic experiments of mankind, today acquires new meanings, new incarnations, giving rise to deep whole images with its deliberate discreteness, involving the viewer in a joint with the artist perception of reality.
According to the organizer of the mosaic exhibition, Irina Kuchmenko, she finally managed to realize one of her goals and unite different artists working in the mosaic technique under one roof and organize a real mosaic festival. She assures that this is only the beginning of a series of mosaic exhibitions, which will certainly see its continuation.
The exhibition will be held in the Belyaevo Gallery and will last until March 29.
