Olga Chernysheva, from the series Guards, 2009, Gelatin silver fiber print, framed, 150 x 100 cm.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series Guards, 2009, Gelatin silver fiber print, framed, 150 x 100 cm.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series Guards, 2009, Gelatin silver fiber print, framed, 150 x 100 cm.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series Guards, 2009, Gelatin silver fiber print, framed, 150 x 100 cm. |
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Calvert22
22 Calvert Avenue
020 7613 2141
London
Olga Chernysheva
July 1-August 29, 2010
Olga Chernysheva captures everyday life in post-Communist Russia and her subjects are the ordinary people of Moscow. Although she maintains a distance from her subjects, Chernysheva is not critical of them in the sense of judging either them or the political or social conditions that contextualise their lives. Often the precise location of the depicted subjects is unclear, and Chernysheva observes closely, uncovering the humour and contradictions that underpin Russian society as it goes through a long period of upheaval.
This is the largest exhibition of Chernysheva’s work to date in the UK and presents a selection of her video, photographic works and watercolours.
Chernysheva documents moments in the lives of ordinary Russian workers, escalator attendants on the Moscow underground network, encased in glass booths (On Duty, 2007) or Russian security personnel (Guards, 2009). In these series of black-and-white photographs Chernysheva turns her gaze to subjects whose blank, often bored, expressions belie their status as authority figures; their roles are relegated to observers or bystanders rather than active participants in the monotonous action that surrounds them. Also on display will be Chernysheva’s video work Intermission of the Heart, 2009, which draws direct inspiration from the ennui and monotony of 19th century Russian artist Pavel Fedotov’s painting Encore, More Encore!
Olga Chernysheva (b. 1962) lives and works in Moscow. In 2001 she represented Russia at the 49th Venice Biennale and has been shortlisted for this year’s Artes Mundi Prize. Her work is held in major international museum collections, as well as in private and corporate collections.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Inner Dialog, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna,
Austria; Present Past, 3rd Moscow Biennale, Baibakova Art Projects, Moscow, Russia; Adventure Istiklal, Istanbul Biennial, Yapi Kredi Kazim Taskent Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey; Caesuras, Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin, Germany (all 2009); Acquaintances, White Space Gallery, London, United Kingdom; After Eisenstein with Boris Mikhailov, Lunds Konsthall, Sweden; New Works’ Foxy Productions, New York, NY, United States (all 2008); Involutions, Catherine Bastide Gallery, Brussels, Belgium (both 2007); Panorama, Stella Art Gallery, Moscow, Russia; Sites, Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (both 2006); Fields, Moscow Multimedia Complex for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia (2005); The Happiness Zone, The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia (2004).
Recent group exhibitions include: Futurologia, Garage: Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia (2010); Dress Codes, Third ICP Triennial of Photography and Video. International Centre of Photography Triennial, New York, NY, United States; Future depends on you. New Rules, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia; Moving Stills, Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg; A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm, AR/GE Kunst, Bolzano, Italy; On the Line, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia (all 2009); Russian Dreams, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida, FL, United States; Emergency Drawings, METIS_NL, Amsterdam, Netherlands (both 2008).
Olga Chernysheva, from the series On Duty, 2007, Optical silver gelatin fiber print, 136 x 90 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Foxy Production, New York.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series On Duty, 2007, Optical silver gelatin fiber print, 136 x 90 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Foxy Production, New York.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series On Duty, 2007, Optical silver gelatin fiber print, 136 x 90 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Foxy Production, New York.
Olga Chernysheva, from the series On Duty, 2007, Optical silver gelatin fiber print, 136 x 90 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Foxy Production, New York. |
