Waiting for space ...
What is hidden inside you, but wants to come to the surface? Whose influence are you under? New exhibition of paintings young Moscow artist Svetlana Kalinkina shows a world that is sometimes difficult to know. The opening took place on November 16 at 19:00 in the "Generation" free space.
Among the gray walls, bright monsters meet me. Either these are aliens from another universe, or mysterious creatures without a name. They seem to be looking into my soul with their own eyes. What is hiding in them? Maybe quiet joy or, on the contrary, pain, anger? I can’t pinpoint it because I have different emotions in front of me and they are subtly intertwined. If at first glance the images seem incomprehensible, scary, then upon closer examination everything changes. Dark sensations seem to dissolve, give way to lighter ones. But this does not come immediately.
I keep my attention on the painting The Witch. She probably stands at the head of these monsters. Sharp, with white eyes, the heroine seems to dream of going beyond the picture. Together with everyone, she seems to want to attack you, or enter into dialogue, like an alien.
I look at the works for a long time and see that they seem to be alive, and next to me are visitors, with smiles and surprise. What do they see in front of them? They probably have no answers, just as I do not. How can you find them when you are faced with something unknown?
It is at such moments that you can feel like a space traveler on an alien planet: you don't know anything, but you want to understand. And I continue my little adventure across the open spaces of the exhibition. Moving from the gray hall to black and white. Everything is in minimalist design, free and easy. On the wall there is a video representing the exhibition, energetic music sounds in the background. In a cozy atmosphere, Svetlana says:
“I work in the genre of expressive fantasy, because I rely only on my imagination, without expression it doesn’t work. The pictures that I paint are connected with my emotional state.”
There are already slightly different creatures around me. They seem like children with a naive but serious look. Made in bright colors and reminiscent of our experiences: red - anger, tension, green - calm, etc. All images are mixed into one - I imagine the mysterious world of space in which they live. Shh ... Listen. What if the creatures are already here?
Photo report and text: Natalia Pushchinskaya.
In the photo above: Svetlana Kalinkina.
