Spring in art part 2: One lilac does make the spring.

Expect to see plenty of Russian art on here for it is one major passion of mine. Places like the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow are where every day more I long to go back and lose myself until those rather stern-looking museum supervisors unceremoniously inform me that it's closing time. All in due course.

Until that day comes, let's feast our eyes on this stunning piece by Russian-Soviet symbolist painter Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Although the artist is mostly known for his iconic Bathing of a Red Horse, for me this painting truly has it all: vibrant colours, unusual perspective, superb optical illusion (look at how the light shines through that finely-shaped inkwell) and very balanced composition, which is dominated by the lilac flowers Petrov-Vodkin placed at the center of the canvas.

This gem came to market in 2019. The hammer went down after a nearly $12 million bid by a private collector, making this the most expensive painting ever sold at a Russian art auction. It is not often I find myself wishing a painting of this calibre graced the walls of my flat, but this colourful still-life stole my heart the moment I saw it.

#petrovvodkin #symbolism #russianart #avantgarde #spring #art #artblog #artblogger #beyondthecanvasblog

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939),Still Life with Lilac,1928, Private Collection

Photo credit: Christie's

Anselm Kiefer at Palazzo Ducale, Venice

Go early, go alone. This could be my motto for many things, but it becomes particularly fitting when I'm on my arty trips. And, for the sake of transparency, full disclaimer required: I am a lifelong Anselm Kiefer adept and, as such, chances are I will struggle to write anything remotely insightful or objective.

In this case, going early meant that I could experience a good couple of minutes of blissful solitude in the Sala dello Scrutinio, a place of great symbolic importance for Venice as that is where the Doges were elected. In art experience time, and given how shamefully fast I tend to consume everything, that is a considerable length of time. I had seen photos of this installation, and I am no stranger to the magnificence of Palazzo Ducale, but my jaw did drop, and my soul was definitely stirred.

Apart from scale, the one thing that always gets me with Kiefer is his anxious and masterful use of texture, combined with the incorporation of materials like straw, metal wires, fabric and resin. Although I think these paintings were arranged to engage closely with the existing decorative scheme of the hall, to me this is a complete takeover, a full kieferification of the environment. What is shared and palpable is the reflection on universal themes and millennial myths, the idea of the cultural and human passage between East and West. But what ultimately really stayed with me is the representation of the darkness of our times.

In the words of the great Ben Street (you should read everything he writes, by the way), Kiefer's monumental work is hammy, there is no doubt about that. It is however also incredibly thoughtful and well-researched. Kiefer is someone who famously immerses himself in history and who moves respectfully, if forcefully, in the spaces he operates in.

So there, I did warn you nothing insightful was going to come out of this post. I'm just going to let the images do the talking. Go see this if you can, it's on until October 29th, and join me in the blind ecstasy that is being a fully paid-up member of the Kiefer cult.

#anselmkiefer #installation #painting #palazzoducale #venezia #venice #venicebiennale #biennaledivenezia #artblog #beyondthecanvasblog

Anselm Kiefer

Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light, 2022)

Palazzo Ducale, Venezia

© Anselm Kiefer

Ukrainian artists: Zhanna Kadyrova at the Venice Biennale

“During the first two weeks of the war, I had the impression that art was only a dream, that I had only dreamed these twenty years of my professional life. And that art at all is powerless and ephemeral compared to the ruthless machinery of war that destroys civilian cities and human lives. Today I don’t think that way anymore, and I see that every artistic gesture makes us visible, and our voices audible.” - Zhanna Kadyrova

After fleeing from Kyiv and finding shelter in the Transcarpathian region in the west of Ukraine, Kadyrova and her co-author Denis Ruban gave life to this project to support people in need and a number of volunteer organisations in Kharkiv and Mariupol.

This installation features bread sculptures which Kadyrova carved out of river stones. It appears that Russian invaders cannot pronounce palianytsia (a traditional type of oven-baked bread) so the word has become a shibboleth among Ukrainians. Kadyrova's stone bread loaves thus not only represent a universal source of life, but they also act as a symbol of solidarity and resistance.

The artist and the gallery representing her, Gallleria Continua, will be donating all proceeds to Ukrainian relief.

#zhannakadyrova #ukrainianart #ukrainianartist #femaleartist #conceptualart #bread #palianytsia #паляниця,#resistance #venicebiennale #biennaledivenezia #beyondthecanvasblog

© Zhanna Kadyrova