Photographer Daria Djalelova @dariadjalelova
Fashion by Irina Boyarintseva @irinaboyarintseva
Models @velvet_management
Ph assistant @rudik_pictures
Muah Ekaterina Mikula @akulamikula.mua
Hair stylist Alena Salamatova @salamatova.alena
Choosing letter G is a good reason to remember a few gorgeous artists that made art even greater. This time we are going to talk about artistic creators only. Let it be a special edition devoted to those who really deserve it (and yet far not all of them).
Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788)
English portrait and landscape painter, originator of the 18-century British Landscape School. Along with another painter, Joshua Reynolds, he is deemed to be one of the greatest artists of his century — age of rococo. However, unlike his rival, Gainsborough didn’t stick to the canons of the praised Renaissance, painting in a more fashionable manner. Born in the family of a weaver, Thomas Gainsborough started showing some real talent for drawing from the early years, thereby he continued studying art in London at the age of 13 — first under Hubert Gravelot, then associating with painters William Hogarth and Francis Hayman. The artist’s genius was soon recognized: remarkably enough, Thomas Gainsborough became a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1769 — and stopped exhibiting his works there four years later due to the tense relationship with the institution. Gainsborough created a number of portraits of the high society that brought him honour, since he defined himself more through the landscape art. In his latter creative period strong influence of the Flemish Baroque painter Anthony Van Dyck with his formal approach is felt. Another celebrated artist John Constable described works by Gainsborough in the following way: ‘On looking at them we find tears in our eyes and know not what brings them’. Today paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, among which there are famous ‘The Blue Boy’, ‘Cornard Wood, near Sudbury, Suffolk’, ‘Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire’, ‘Mr and Mrs Andrews’ can be found around the world both in museums and private collections, yet primarily in the National Gallery, London.
Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire
The Blue Boy
Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903)
Naming Gauguin a Post-Impressionist painter might be the broadest description that can be applied to his art. Indeed, Paul Gauguin was a French artist of an exceptional talent who continued the revolution incited by the Impressionists and made quite a few discoveries in the pictorial field. For his 53 years of life he explored the potential of colour pioneering the Synthetist style, experimented with flat and bold forms and dark contours trying the cloisonne technique and all that wasn’t in vain. Today we know Paul Gauguin as a bright Fauvist, Symbolist and Primitivist painter whose art embodied curiosity, sense of colour, thirst for new experiences and yet, conciseness. However, it didn’t happen overnight — story of Paul Gauguin’s life is quite an adventure. After spending years of carefree childhood in Peru (Gauguin’s father set off there to proceed with his journalistic career), young Paul returned to Paris and became a stockbroker (quite a successful one, by the way) and an art dealer, trying his artistic skills from time to time. It had been just fine before the crash of the Paris stock market in 1882. Gauguin who had been already married and had 5 children, decided to devote himself to painting full-time which was a nasty surprise for the rest of the family. Paul Gauguin got divorced and started traveling, turning all his visit destinations into art residences. Perhaps, the most wonderful stay which was also efficient for his career as a painter Gauguin had on Tahiti. Extremely saturated images of the local girls and beckoning landscapes of the island are the most prominent feature of his art. Thus, joining various movements and giving in different influences, Paul Gauguin managed to elaborate his own unique style.
Gutai (The Gutai Group) (Years active: 1954 – 1972)
A Japanese art movement which name may be translated as concreteness. Based on the concern of individualism, Gutai artists rebelled against the conservatism of art and totalitarian regime which prevailed in the post-war Japan. The group wanted to expand the notion of what art can be, yet maintaining their connection to the painting. The Gutai Art Association was founded by Jirõ Yoshihara in the small town of Ashiya in 1954. The birth of the movement happened, first, thanks to the rich artistic background of Yoshihara who had been painting and teaching for 20 years before starting Gutai, second, owing to the financial support of his father, a wealthy merchant. The movement quickly assembled its members from different small artistic societies of the Ashiya region — such as The Zero-Kai and Genbi, also founded by Yoshihara. Such artists as Tanaka Atsuko, Saburõ Murakami, Toshio Yoshida, Shuji Mukai, Shozo Shimamoto and a couple dozen of others are considered to be the part of the group. Despite redefining the former cultural experience of Japan and traditional art forms in its’ practice, the Gutai Group was strongly influenced by the international art scene: works by Jackson Pollock were praised in the Gutai 1956 Manifesto, so was the art of the Art Informel movement.
Gutai artists also collaborated with Allan Kaprow and the Dutch Nul Collective, driven by the desire to be a part of a new cosmopolitan society. Speaking about Gutai, it’s impossible not to mention the vocabulary elaborated by its members, which consists of the two main definitions: ‘e’ (Japanese for a ‘picture’) which signifies all group activities, aiming at ‘expulsion of the frame’ and the opposite ‘kaiga’, a traditional art form in Japan. Proclaiming their ideas, Gutai counted much on publications — the group set up its own The Gutai Journal and contributed greatly to Kirin, children’s educative art journal. The existence of the group ended with the death of the founder Jirõ Yoshihara in 1972, yet Gutai affected the elaboration of the core movements of the 20th century such as Happenings, Fluxus, and Viennese Actionism.
Gilbert & George (Years active: 1969 till present)
A UK-resided artistic duo (and a gay couple as well) who is mostly famous for their performance art and photo-based works. The collaboration consists of its two founding members, Gilbert Proesch (born in Italy in 1943) and George Passmore (born in the UK in 1942). The two met while studying sculpture at Saint Martin’s School of Art and began living & working together. Probably the first artwork that emerged from their collaboration was The Singing Sculpture (1969), for which they covered their heads and hands with bright metallised powder and sang along for the recording of Flanagan and Allen’s song ‚Underneath the Arches‚ while staying on the table. Later came a series of photoworks tackling acute social issues such as religion, sexuality, poverty as political costs, search for identity and e.t.c. The thing is the both artists came from relatively modest backgrounds, thus carrying a democratic approach to art throughout their practice: ‚To be with art is all we ask‚ — is their famous saying, which can also be read as art is for all. Another crucial point in the duo’s artistic practice is that Gilbert and George considered life to be art and vice versa. They stepped against the haughtiness of the art world criticizing the concept of good taste and elitism. To the naked eye, their works might not be taken seriously, however, making brash and glaring art, the duo was trying to get through the society’s rules that called for improvement. To enhance the effect of their artistic message, Gilbert and George usually put on formal tweed suits, just like an ordinary middle-class couple who dare to open their mouths and make a statement.
Guerilla Girls (Years active: 1985 till present)
A feminist art group, famous for its provocative artistic actions that are run absolutely anonymously. Since 1985 a few girls wearing gorilla masks have been coming to public spaces, mostly nearby art institutions to express their opinion on the position of women in art. How do they do that? They create posters that expose unpleasant data: how many women artists are represented in various museums‘ collections, the number of women curators in major art institutions (hint — essentially zero) and thus accuse the art world’s powerful of discrimination. Apart from the issue of sexism, Guerilla Girls discuss racism through billboards and performances. Their appeals sound like: ‚Do women have to get naked to get into the MoMA Museum?‚, or ‚Only 4 commercial galleries in N.Y. show black women. Only 1 shows more than one‘. They also enjoy raising questions in a playful and yet sharp way: e.g. ‚If February is Black history month and March is a Women’s history month, what happens the rest of the year? Answer: Discrimination‘. Interesting fact, the art group didn’t tackle the link between their name and gorillas originally — it came by chance when someone misspelt the word ‚guerillas‘ — and the mistake became fateful. Actually, for their first performance the girls were having ski masks on, but it was gorilla image that made the whole activist campaign shine.
However, the most remarkable thing about the art group is that they a) never disclose who stand behind masks (as one Guerilla Girl admitted in the interview, it was just her partner who knew, her loved ones and her dog) and b) throughout the history of Guerilla’s artistic activity there have been about 50 members — they’ve changed but always stayed anonymous and belligerent and humorous at once.
I am text block.
Photography: Anna Priakhina @annapriakhina
Make up: Olya Kasatkina @olyazoom
Hair: Svetlana Lyubnina @lubnina_svetlana
Closes: Aleksandra Gapanovich @sasha_gapanovich
Models: Tatyana Verejan @dolphy5
Avramenko Victoria @negodyuka
Polina Chernyshova @miss_po_._
P.H. Hi Aleksandra! I wonder how you came to be Weld Queen? By the way, why Weld Queen exactly?
A.W. Well, you might say that this image came to me by chance. I created my first sculpture work in 2015 — waking up on one April morning, I imagined a huge meditating cat called Tikhvami and realized this was just me! I felt so much energy at that moment, so I was ready to throw myself into art. Of course, I was sure that my life wasn’t going to be the same as it used to be. I needed a kind of a stage name, so I asked a friend of mine for help. She’s a linguist. Together we could think of a couple of names but there was one that just hit me — Weld Queen, that’s how the choice was made. In fact, Weld is a noun or a short form of the adjective, for this reason many colleagues and partners tried to correct me all the time — say, you’d better call it Welding Queen. But I don’t really care as Weld Queen sounds fine.
P.H. You weren’t interested in art before 2015, were you?
A.W. Actually, I’ve loved arts and crafts since I was a child. Remember, at the age of 17 I enjoyed putting together LEGO model kits while many girls of my age were dating boys. I took up oil painting in 2007. It was more like a hobby for me, pretty naive. However, I quickly realized I was searching for more, so I asked my stepfather to teach me to work with metal (he is a big expert in this field). I started creating small sculptures — back then I had no grand ideas, but some images I wanted to bring from canvas to reality. I entered Welding Technologies at the Polytechnic College, as I was never aiming at receiving academic art education — I had to work instead. In fact, I didn’t see myself as an artist in those years, it came much later.
P.H. Honestly, the image of Weld Queen looks bold for Russia. Do they consider you to be a feminist? What is your attitude towards feminism, by the way?
A.W. Good question! No, I’m definitely not a feminist. I don’t feel like proving something to the opposite sex. I appreciate men and don’t see them as my competitors. They are more like my companions, there is much to learn from them: e.g. assurance, determination, manhood. By the way, I coined a special term to describe my attitude towards gender issues — neofeminism. I see it the following way: Russian women have recently started to realize their rights and possibilities, so they want to break free from dependence on men. In the Western countries the evolution has already taken place — everyone is aware of the girls’ power. But what comes next? Yes, women do have a right to work, to have leisure time that they can devote to their personal interests. I would say, it’s internal struggle that comes next as women try to prove all those notions to themselves. When you finally achieve this inner freedom and have some faith in yourself, you just leave the senseless battlefield. I enjoy exploring my gender role as well as the position of women in society while making art. In the performance Nutrient Medium I am sitting inside the woman-shaped metal case and “charge” mobile phones with my breast (in fact, charges are attached to the case at breast height). That’s how I observe the woman’s position — in a game, watching from outside. It can be a good engine. I accept femininity and related with it expectations that arise from society — however, I’m outside the game. I am glad I realized it. It’s a work done for good, not in spite of something.
P.H. Apart from making sculptures, you integrate your image into performances. Imagine, it can steal viewers’ focus from the art you make to your personality…
A.W. I don’t think it’s a problem. Meanwhile my artistic activity is running smoothly: I wouldn’t prioritize either sculpture or performance. My life itself is art, everything is interlinked and goes so naturally. Whatever I do, I explore the energy flow, choosing a proper medium through which I want to show the concept. Performance pieces just enhance the perception of my works. In fact, I fully identify myself with Weld Queen, nothing else exists for me at the moment. For example, yesterday evening I was going out with my friends. Guess what I had on? No, not jeans or trainers or any casual outfit, I just couldn’t dress like that! I had my hair done, just like a royalty, so I put on the Queen’s dress and grabbed an iron fan… I felt the way real woman might feel when they wear traditional clothes — totally accepted and approved by the society. My body seems to like this appearance but anyway it’s simply a convention, the one that embodies a stereotypical vision of woman’s dress. Personally I try to live as natural as possible, doing the things I like. You can see it in my art: I enjoy being Weld Queen and living her life.
P.H. Can you think of the work that you’re really proud of and the one that didn’t meet your expectations?
A.W. The Mother sculpture exhibited in Zaryadye Park is a very important work for me. It took me almost a year to create it: from the moment the idea was born until its complete realization. People who came to lie in the arms of the Mother shared their impressions — they reached the outer space, they say! Some of them came at night to avoid crowds and spend more time interacting with the figure. Visitors who had this experience appreciate the feeling of acceptance and protection they had in Her arms. Probably I fulfilled my duty bringing the Mother to life — It made people happy for a moment. You know, everything in life is a part of the World harmony, for this reason I don’t find any of my works disappointing. Actually, visions come to me, I don’t make them out, that’s why there is no point in hesitating, I just put my ideas into practice.
P.H. Does it mean that you never change the design of the objects during the working process?
A.W. Well, it happened once. I had an idea to create a woman-shaped figure wrapped into a robe. When my team and I started working, I suddenly felt I was going to change my mind about that image. As the steel casing showed up, it struck me — she doesn’t need any clothing! Later I understood why — the figure lacked openness and courage. Was I afraid to admit it to myself? Anyway, at that moment it became clear. We corrected the casing, so it all made sense. You see, it’s all about the inner feeling that guides you. Just stay true to yourself.
P.H. Does your creativity depend on such external factors as weather? I wonder if you work more or less on gloomy cloudy days…
A.W. Well, I don’t really depend on that. I love all the seasons and have no idea what Moscow melancholy (as we call it) is. Moscow is Moscow — sometimes it’s gloomy, sometimes it lacks sun. The latter is a problem, by the way, but still, it’s easy to solve — you just buy a plane ticket and fly away somewhere warm. Apart from this, I love this city. It’s beautiful in the meaning of architecture and culture and even weather. My studio is located on the territory of a real working factory, many trees grow there, so in autumn the ground is fully covered with colourful leaves, while in winter it’s all in the snow. Just stunning! In fact, I can’t understand people who don’t love place where they leave. If it’s so, why not to change it? However, this is hardly the case. Feeling bad inside, you won’t change things drastically just relocating to Goa or Thailand. You need an answer from within.
P.H. What about artistic blocks? Do you face any?
A.W. Yes, I do. However, they are not about the weather changing or anything happening in the outside world. When I have a work overload, I get quickly tired and start digging myself out. Here is what I found out: if you don’t feel good, a nice sleep, vitamins, hot tea and maybe an intimate conversation are all you need. Declines happen to everyone, however, I wouldn’t like to put it on public display.
P.H. Are you looking forward to participating in any specific exhibition/project?
A.W. As an artist I would really like to take part in Art Basel Miami. This summer I went to the art fair that focuses on the works by emerging artists called Scope Art Miami Beach. It’s been my fourth trip to the US, meanwhile my goal is to take a look around. I can’t think of any specific galleries I would like to work with yet. One thing is for sure — America is my destination, I am also interested in the Asian art market. I would say Western countries are more involved in the contemporary art field, local art institutions have much to offer to artists. The scope of services provided by some American galleries just amazed me — I could only dream of it!
P.H. Thank you for such an interesting conversation, Aleksandra! Before saying goodbye, please wish something to Purplehaze readers. ❤️
A.W. I wish you to listen to your heart, doing the things you enjoy. Trust yourself and follow your inspiration. If something gets you carried away, stop looking for excuses, just commit yourself to this activity. This is my secret to success.
Photography, production, art-direction, post-production: Lotte Bruning Donskoi
@lottebruningphotography from agency @thenextchapteragency
Artist/Illustrator: Soraya Basiran @soraya_basiran for the agency @angeliquehoornmanagement
Styling: April Jumelet @apriljumeletstyling
Hair & Make-up: Liselotte van Saarloos @liselottevansaarloos for MAC Cosmetics, Bumble & Bumble and TUSH Brushes
Hair & Make-up assistant: Wout Philippo @woutphilippobeauty
Models: sisters Merel @merel_aj & Femke @femke__bloem from agency @tjardamodelmanagement
Photography assistant: Pim van Baalen @pimvanbaalen
What do Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder have in common? The most obvious answer might be: they both were striking artists and contemporaries. The current exhibition examines however a more profound resemblance — the Franco-Spanish painter and the American architect had a genuine interest for different dimensions what made them explore space and find new ways to interact with it. Whereas Calder’s pre-kinetic sculptures are full of a scientist’s curiosity and intellectual power, Picasso’s works are introspective and self-expressive at once. 120 works altogether of the two geniuses of the 20th century (shake, but don’t stir, please) are certainly something worth seeing in the city of (art) lovers.
What else to see: Berthe Morisot: Female Impressionist at The Musée d’Orsay; Bernard Frieze. Without Remorse at the Centre Pompidou
What else to see: Summer of love: art, fashion, and rock and roll at the Palais Populaire; Gustave Caillebotte: Painter and Patron of Impressionism at the Alte Nationalgalerie
What else to see: Summer of love: art, fashion, and rock and roll at the Palais Populaire; Gustave Caillebotte: Painter and Patron of Impressionism at the Alte Nationalgalerie
Photography: Paolo Rally @paolorally
Beauty: Amanda Kay @amandakaymakeup
Model: Krysia Makiela @krysiamakiela
Production: Jesse Vora / NineSeven1 Media @jvora @ns1media
Photo, production, post-production: Liliya Bondarenko @bussardel
Art-direction, style, production, set-design: Ulya Nagumanova @ylittka
Stylist Assistant: Ekaterina Makarovskaya @jesusdaughter___
Make-up: Marie Malysheva @mlshvms
Hairstyle: Inessa Raevskaya: @inessa_raevskaya
Models: Alyona Grigorieva @alyonchokak @lilasmodel & Artem Novikov @novmod
Location: Vox Studios @voxstudios
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