Alexey Kallima
13 Nov 2012 - 02 Feb 2013
ALEXEY KALLIMA
Rain Theorem
13 November 2012 - 2 February 2013
Regina Gallery is pleased to present Rain Theorem, the first solo exhibition at Regina Gallery by Alexey Kallima. Kallima is the author of monumental fresco-style compositions that represent a synthesis of traditional Soviet art with graffiti.
For his work, Chechen history, mythological images and sports are all interlaced to create figurative paintings which show the influence of the graphics of Francisco Goya.
‘Rain Theorem’ is a large-scale installation made of fluorescent inks. It represents a crowded stadium in the center of which appear visitors to the exhibition. Themes around the game of football have interested the artist for a long time.
Kallima developed his initial ideas in the large-scale fantasy works ‘Terek vs. Terek’ and ‘Terek vs. Chelsea’ (2006).
Creating ‘Rain Theorem’ he decided to give visitors the role of players. For Kallima, a football match is a model of the situation in which he explores the will of nature, and laws of human perception and behaviour. The artist plays with the imagination of the viewer. Upon entering the gallery, viewers are presented with an illuminated but empty space. At first glance they are surrounded only by a white banner. A motion-sensor is triggered, however, plunging everything into darkness and the light of a UV lamp turns the forty-meter canvas into a tribune of raging fans. The match begins.
Each “period” lasts only forty seconds, after which the game becomes a ghostly vision again in a white room.
The title of the work, Rain Theorem, refers to chaos theory, to the impossibility of predicting events and the challenge of determining the development of natural phenomena cannot be solved. They are also caused by an accident, as the result of a sporting competition. The final of the game between Kallima and the audience is unpredictable as the rain theorem cannot be solved. The outcome of the match depends on everyone who is at the center of the imaginary field.
‘Rain Theorem’ was firstly shown at the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2009, and featured in the large-scale exhibition ‘Audience As Subject, Part 2’ at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco, in 2012.
Alexey Kallima was born in Grozny in 1969. He studied at the Krasnodar Art College and has been curator of the France Gallery since 1991. He lives and works in Moscow. Kallima represented Russia at the 46th and the 53rd Venice Biennales (1995, 2009). He is the participant of the special projects of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Moscow Biennale (2005, 2007, 2011), and the ‘Europalia’ festival (2005). In 2005 he won the prize for the Best Visual Artwork in the State INNOVATION Competition for Contemporary Arts. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide including Russia, Europe and USA., including ‘Distance’, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (2002); ‘Sky Patrol’. Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris (2007), ‘Chechen Women’s Team of Parachute Jumping’. Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York (2008). Among his group exhibitions are ‘Davaj! Russian Art Now’. Postfuhramt, Berlin, Germany; MAC, Wien, Austria (2002), ‘Moscow Breaking Through’, Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London (2005), ‘Sots Art’ The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (2007), ‘Thaw’, Chelsea Art Museum, New York (2008), and ‘Diary of a Madman’, Regina Gallery, Moscow (2010).
Rain Theorem
13 November 2012 - 2 February 2013
Regina Gallery is pleased to present Rain Theorem, the first solo exhibition at Regina Gallery by Alexey Kallima. Kallima is the author of monumental fresco-style compositions that represent a synthesis of traditional Soviet art with graffiti.
For his work, Chechen history, mythological images and sports are all interlaced to create figurative paintings which show the influence of the graphics of Francisco Goya.
‘Rain Theorem’ is a large-scale installation made of fluorescent inks. It represents a crowded stadium in the center of which appear visitors to the exhibition. Themes around the game of football have interested the artist for a long time.
Kallima developed his initial ideas in the large-scale fantasy works ‘Terek vs. Terek’ and ‘Terek vs. Chelsea’ (2006).
Creating ‘Rain Theorem’ he decided to give visitors the role of players. For Kallima, a football match is a model of the situation in which he explores the will of nature, and laws of human perception and behaviour. The artist plays with the imagination of the viewer. Upon entering the gallery, viewers are presented with an illuminated but empty space. At first glance they are surrounded only by a white banner. A motion-sensor is triggered, however, plunging everything into darkness and the light of a UV lamp turns the forty-meter canvas into a tribune of raging fans. The match begins.
Each “period” lasts only forty seconds, after which the game becomes a ghostly vision again in a white room.
The title of the work, Rain Theorem, refers to chaos theory, to the impossibility of predicting events and the challenge of determining the development of natural phenomena cannot be solved. They are also caused by an accident, as the result of a sporting competition. The final of the game between Kallima and the audience is unpredictable as the rain theorem cannot be solved. The outcome of the match depends on everyone who is at the center of the imaginary field.
‘Rain Theorem’ was firstly shown at the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2009, and featured in the large-scale exhibition ‘Audience As Subject, Part 2’ at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco, in 2012.
Alexey Kallima was born in Grozny in 1969. He studied at the Krasnodar Art College and has been curator of the France Gallery since 1991. He lives and works in Moscow. Kallima represented Russia at the 46th and the 53rd Venice Biennales (1995, 2009). He is the participant of the special projects of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Moscow Biennale (2005, 2007, 2011), and the ‘Europalia’ festival (2005). In 2005 he won the prize for the Best Visual Artwork in the State INNOVATION Competition for Contemporary Arts. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide including Russia, Europe and USA., including ‘Distance’, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (2002); ‘Sky Patrol’. Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris (2007), ‘Chechen Women’s Team of Parachute Jumping’. Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York (2008). Among his group exhibitions are ‘Davaj! Russian Art Now’. Postfuhramt, Berlin, Germany; MAC, Wien, Austria (2002), ‘Moscow Breaking Through’, Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London (2005), ‘Sots Art’ The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (2007), ‘Thaw’, Chelsea Art Museum, New York (2008), and ‘Diary of a Madman’, Regina Gallery, Moscow (2010).