Constant Instant
21 February – 6 June 2020
We are very happy to announce the first solo exhibition of artist Aks Misyuta (RU, 1984) at the gallery.
The figures in her paintings – almost exclusively female, fleshy and oversized – are framed in gloomy environments marked by shadows and light contrasts.
While they are not inspired by actual people or situations, these characters are forms of “self-portraits”, according to the artist.
“The inflatable appearance is a way to depict our vulnerable nature – just a momentary pinprick is enough sometimes to destroy. So, for me, it’s all about self-cognition and interactions: all the figures, like balloons, are floating in their own pensive universe.”
Aks Misyuta works by intuition and makes no preliminary sketches. She covers the canvas with a single color while waiting to see the “invisible lines” appear.
One can notice some recurring objects in her work, such as watches, flowers or mirrors. As concerns watches, they are always accompanied by the title “Time-waster (…)”,thus forming a series of paintings with sensual and pensive postures, a kind of feminist manifesto for the right to waste your time, a commitment to “non-productivity” in the face of the expectations and orders of a traditional patriarchal culture.
“I was raised in a culture where ‘the clock is ticking’ metaphor has always been widely used to make any woman above 18 uncomfortable, implying that all their endeavors are nothing in comparison with values of patriarchal society. Although I’m aware that time is the main treasure, only we ourselves can decide how to dispose of it. For this reason, my character celebrates the act of alleged time-wasting, kind of a quiet rebel.”
2020
Acrylic on canvas board
18 × 24 cm / 7 × 9,4 in.