Stas Volyazlovsky
24 Nov 2011 - 25 Jan 2012
STAS VOLYAZLOVSKY
Kiosk Between Two Towers
24 November, 2011 - 25 January, 2012
Regina Moscow is pleased to announce the exhibition Kiosk Between Two Towers, a new solo presentation by Stas Volyazlovsky - the artist and controversial author of trash, psychedelic art-ballads whose practice continues to touch on some of the most heated topics of today. Volyazlovsky’s recent works are strongly influenced by the designs found in folk art and form an intriguing combination of political, fiercely taboo subject-matter: hardcore eroticism, kabbalah and various criminal lexicons to name just a few. This is Chanson Art – an artistic style that promises to stand in stark contrast to any of the glamorous aspirations which might be found in contemporary Moscow life.
The heroes (or anti-heroes) of Volyazlovsky’s works are such well-know figures as ballet-dancer Maya Plisetskaya, politicians Yulia Tymoshenko and Margaret Thatcher, or others such as Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and not least... the artist himself.
Girls! Do not miss your chance! During the exhibition Stas Volyazlovsky will present a unique performance which will enable you to profit from your visit and possibly even relieve the coming financial burden of old age. Visitors to the gallery will get a chance to own (and even sell at a future point) an original work by this classic exponent of contemporary art. All that will be required from you in order to own one of the author’s masterpieces is to offer in exchange a piece of your own underwear. The exchange office is a kiosk from the 1990s, which will be installed inside the gallery space.
For your convenience a nearby changing screen will also be provided. In order to convince yourself once more of the author’s genius just take a look at his masterpieces displayed nearby the ‘cash desk’. The exhibition will be completed by two architectural features: a pair of towers constructed from plastic, onto which materials such as videos of the artist’s life and work will be shown. Interactivity is essential and guaranteed!
Stas Volyazlovsky writes: “Chanson Art is a kind of reflection of the world where I exist, with all its problems, fears and religions; its new intellectual and cultural values; its television programs full of hectoring advertisements, dissected bodies, crime, pornography, soap-operas and politics; its supermarket tabloids and literature written in the spirit of [pulp-fiction author] Alexandra Marinina; with its Internet – that endless source of useful information to fit every taste.
Perhaps even for me ‘Chanson Art’ is not just a reflection but some kind of therapy. I manage to get rid of all the above, as it passes through my mind against my will, by throwing everything out in concentrated folk forms - everything is written on paper or on old, second-hand bed sheets, painted with a ball-point pen! Why ball-point pens? Maybe it’s because when I was a child I unconsciously drew the same way during lessons, saving my brain from information, at least eighty percent of which has never come in any use.”
Stas Volyazlovsky, born in 1971, graduated from the School of Arts in Moscow, and later attended courses in graphic art.
He is a former recipient of the Kazimir Malevich prize. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including ‘The 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art’ at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2009), ‘Generations USA’ at the Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev (2007), ‘5th International Triennial of Small Graphic Forms’ in Vilnius (2004) and ‘Seven’ at the Kherson Museum of Art, Ukraine (2000). The artist’s works are also presented in numerous public and private collections including the Pigozzi Collection in Switzerland.
*The exhibition will also include collaborative works by Sergey Bratkov and Stas Volyazlovsky.
Kiosk Between Two Towers
24 November, 2011 - 25 January, 2012
Regina Moscow is pleased to announce the exhibition Kiosk Between Two Towers, a new solo presentation by Stas Volyazlovsky - the artist and controversial author of trash, psychedelic art-ballads whose practice continues to touch on some of the most heated topics of today. Volyazlovsky’s recent works are strongly influenced by the designs found in folk art and form an intriguing combination of political, fiercely taboo subject-matter: hardcore eroticism, kabbalah and various criminal lexicons to name just a few. This is Chanson Art – an artistic style that promises to stand in stark contrast to any of the glamorous aspirations which might be found in contemporary Moscow life.
The heroes (or anti-heroes) of Volyazlovsky’s works are such well-know figures as ballet-dancer Maya Plisetskaya, politicians Yulia Tymoshenko and Margaret Thatcher, or others such as Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and not least... the artist himself.
Girls! Do not miss your chance! During the exhibition Stas Volyazlovsky will present a unique performance which will enable you to profit from your visit and possibly even relieve the coming financial burden of old age. Visitors to the gallery will get a chance to own (and even sell at a future point) an original work by this classic exponent of contemporary art. All that will be required from you in order to own one of the author’s masterpieces is to offer in exchange a piece of your own underwear. The exchange office is a kiosk from the 1990s, which will be installed inside the gallery space.
For your convenience a nearby changing screen will also be provided. In order to convince yourself once more of the author’s genius just take a look at his masterpieces displayed nearby the ‘cash desk’. The exhibition will be completed by two architectural features: a pair of towers constructed from plastic, onto which materials such as videos of the artist’s life and work will be shown. Interactivity is essential and guaranteed!
Stas Volyazlovsky writes: “Chanson Art is a kind of reflection of the world where I exist, with all its problems, fears and religions; its new intellectual and cultural values; its television programs full of hectoring advertisements, dissected bodies, crime, pornography, soap-operas and politics; its supermarket tabloids and literature written in the spirit of [pulp-fiction author] Alexandra Marinina; with its Internet – that endless source of useful information to fit every taste.
Perhaps even for me ‘Chanson Art’ is not just a reflection but some kind of therapy. I manage to get rid of all the above, as it passes through my mind against my will, by throwing everything out in concentrated folk forms - everything is written on paper or on old, second-hand bed sheets, painted with a ball-point pen! Why ball-point pens? Maybe it’s because when I was a child I unconsciously drew the same way during lessons, saving my brain from information, at least eighty percent of which has never come in any use.”
Stas Volyazlovsky, born in 1971, graduated from the School of Arts in Moscow, and later attended courses in graphic art.
He is a former recipient of the Kazimir Malevich prize. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including ‘The 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art’ at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2009), ‘Generations USA’ at the Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev (2007), ‘5th International Triennial of Small Graphic Forms’ in Vilnius (2004) and ‘Seven’ at the Kherson Museum of Art, Ukraine (2000). The artist’s works are also presented in numerous public and private collections including the Pigozzi Collection in Switzerland.
*The exhibition will also include collaborative works by Sergey Bratkov and Stas Volyazlovsky.