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Ilya Volykhine |
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In Stories, Volykhine uses a combination of oil and
paper (personal letters from his mother still in Russia) on canvas,
linen and panels. The artist’s versatile use of different expressive
media is directly connected to the kaleidoscope of cultures that coexist
in his personality: born in the Soviet Union, he has led a mobile existence
in Russia, USA and most recently Australia; between the polymorphic
vitality of Russian culture and the New York “melting pot”
he delves into the idea of the accidental nature of the world as creative
force, maintaining a detachment with respect to subjects and materials
that allows him to freely explore and express his experience of the
world in painting. His works often evoke his own physical presence, his body seen as an
instrument through which a relationship of osmosis is established between
the creative Self and the rest of the world: the artist is his own body
through which, in a constant interplay of inner and outer, physical
and psychic, relations are created among different cultures, histories,
people and thoughts. They are characterised by luminous vivid colours,
and the artists’ unique iconography infused with both memories
of Russian literature and popular culture. The exhibition title Stories refers to the common saying that every
picture tells a story and highlights many works – including portraits
and the human figure, rural landscapes and urban cityscapes, and conceptual
approaches to figurative painting – that speak to the continuing
power of painting. Ilya Volykhine's Stories exhibition opens on Wednesday the 12th of
October, with drinks with the artist from 6-8pm, and will be on view
from the 12th to the 30th of October. About the Artist
Groundfloor Gallery 2005
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