POETLETTE

 Sergey Bondarev
POETKA | POETLETTE 
5/11 - 5/12 2016
Total installation in Saint Petersburg's loft-gallery
Produced by Svetlana Bekasova

St. Petersburg, Nevsky Avenue, 71, Kostya Kreutz Appartments
24/7. Admission is free; advance registration required

November 4, the Russian artist Sergey Bondarev is going to turn 800-meter-loft in the center of St. Petersburg in overnight installation. The exhibition POETKA / POETLETTE brought together 17 large-scale paintings, three-meter blind-faces of the new project "Skin", objects made of porcelain, and the main semantic focus of the project — 16 conceptual panels embroidered with sequins.

"Mankind uses sequins as a decorative art technique more than 4 thousand years. Since then hand embroidery has not changed technologically, remaining super-hard work", — says Sergey Bondarev, stressing that the most insignificant moments of life can and should be jewel. Old lady neighbour, meat steak, vintage-fashioned furniture or pop diva from the last century — it’s all "canonized" by the gold glitter of sequins, making it as part of the eternal and essential.

Young artists and designers from Omsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod have become involved in the сontemporary art process. Hundreds of embroidery working hours have been taken into account as the official summer practice for students of the largest art schools in Russia. According to the history of art, originally the shine of sequins stressed or imitated flickering of gold, silver and precious stones in the ceremonial costumes of the court and vestments. XX century transformed the glitter of sequins over lights spotlight with their secular evening dresses and costumes, into casual clothes.

“Game on words in the title of the exhibition connects ‘sequins’ (or ‘payetka’ in Russian) and ‘poetry’. As for me these are the main sources of inspiration, apart from mythology, Cranach’s painting, Byzantine mosaics and trance of 1980-s,” - says Sergey Bondarev. As an epigraph for the project POETKA / POETLETTE the artist had chosen the statement of Friedrich Nietzsche: "To represent terrible and questionable things is in itself an instinct for power and magnificence in an artist: he does not fear them – There is no such thing as pessimistic art – Art affirms"

The exhibition is complemented with the porcelain objects. The exaggerated decorativeness of pets’ sculptures made in full size refers to the theme of "kitch" taste. Also a series of neo-expressionistic paintings created by the artist in last years will be hosted in the space of 800 meters attic. An announcement of the next Sergey Bondarev’s study will be three-meter textile faces which take any form - from the traditional curtains tо drape on the ancient sculpture. In the project "Skin" the artist continues to explore the transformation of personality and work with different plastic techniques and genres.