Thursday, 24th of November 2011, at 07:30 p.m., the opening of the exhibition "Siberia – the place to hide away" curator Alexandra Semenova showing works of artists Alexander Kuptzov, Dinara Hafizova, Tatiana Antonuk, Vasilina Popova, Gleb Pokrov, Roza Mozhaiskaya, Alexey Akimov (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) and Marjan Teeuwen ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands) shall take place at ANAID ART GALLERY.
The exhibition combines the photos and videos made in Siberia, about Siberia. It also presents the contemporary artistic practice in this region. The exhibition will be open until December 8th 2011.
Interest in Siberia in the world is stable and widespread. At least because the Siberian area is huge space on the world map – one may compare this area to area of the whole European Union. At most because Siberia is mythological, cryptic, full of legends and hazardous historical facts. On one hand, myths about Siberia are quite well-known: icy cold all year round, bears running on the streets, drunken men, exiles and convicts from other regions of the world; a rather depressive picture. On the other hand, Siberia is a place of original local features in a monotonous global world. And it is very important for a contemporary man to know that there are some places in the world where it is possible to live by other rules. In addition, according to some eschatological signs: Siberia can serve as a rare place to hide away from global catastrophes and other, equally depressing issues.
But these are just myths. Contemporary Siberia integrated into the globalization process quite well. And if you go to a big Siberian city you will see the same urban space as everywhere, the same shops by the same brand names. Also, you will see that contemporary art develops with the same trends as everywhere, because we are now living in an open information world.
The exhibition "Siberia – the place to hide away" presents a contemporary way to investigate Siberian ideas on the border of mythology and reality using photos and videos.
The most part of the exhibition consists of photographs by the creative group "Siberian character". This group is curated by photographer Alexander Kuptzov and unites the photographers: Dinara Hafizova, Tatiana Antonuk, Vasilina Popova, Roza Mozhayskaya, Gleb Pokrov. For more than a year they tried to capture in their photos the special Siberian mentality and to connect this idea with contemporary approaches to photography. This exhibition will show the archived Soviet past, which nobody wants to unpack, and not glam "Welcome to Siberia" postcards, but rather philosophical, sentimental and painful family stories.
The exhibition will include two videos. The first one, "Incredible journey of an Italian through Siberia" by Alexey Akimov will show the way to overcome stereotypes about Siberia. The second one, "Destroyed house in Krasnoyarsk" by Marjan Teeuwen is special. It is about the contemporary Siberian art experience and consists of photographs of the installation and the three-dimensional abstract painting in the wooden house.
The exhibition takes place with the support of Romanian Cultural Institute from Bucharest, Romania.
Alexandra Semenova is an art historian, Ph. D. candidate and head of the curatorial department of Krasnoyarsk Contemporary Art Museum, Siberia, Russia. At the same time, Alexandra Semenova coordinates the museum biennale and the projects dedicated to the public space within it. Alexandra Semenova was awarded a residency within the EUNIC Russian-European Curatorial Exchange Program, in order to research the Romanian artistic environment. During October 1st - November 30th, Alexandra Semenova will meet artists, visit museums and galleries, coming into contact with both the designers and those who promote Romanian contemporary art. Alexandra's Semenova entire research in Romania is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute.
Anaid Art Gallery invites you to an incursion into contemporary art from Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 07:00 p.m., and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 06:00 p.m. Slobozia Street, no.34, district 4, Bucharest, Romania, phone: +4 021 337 11 87, e-mail: contact@anaidart.ro; www.anaidart.ro
