LA BIENNALE ARTE DI VENEZIA 2019
Maxim Wakultschik, Algol I, 2019, Optical Portrait Wood Upright-series, varnish on wood on Kapa board behind acrylic glass cover, 180 x 135 x 9 cm
PERSONAL STRUCTURES
An exhibition presented by The European Cultural Centre
The European Cultural Centre's large biennial exhibition Personal Structures explores new standpoints in contemporary art concerning time, space and existence. The exhibition runs in several locations in Venice from May until the end of autumn, accompanying the 58th Venice Biennale.
We are proud to announce that Maxim has been invited to join this year's selection of international artists.
Exhibition:
11 May 2019 - 24 November 2019
10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Closed on Tuesday. Free entry.
Room #3A5, 3rd Floor
European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Strada Nuova #3659, 30121 Venice, Italy
Maxim Wakultschik's Celestial Creatures
On clear winter nights, the constellation of Perseus, named after the Greek hero, is clearly visible amidst the galactic plane of the Milky Way in the Northern sky. The most famous of the constellation are the stars of Algol, their fluctuation in brightness and variability in color noticeable even to the naked eye. The stars of Algol are the prototype of eclipsing binary stars, orbiting each other, interacting with each other, eternally together, yet forever apart.
With the choice of Algol as title, Wakultschik draws parallels to the importance of luminosity, radiance and the effects of oscillating colors in his creative work. These are the issues that lie at the core of all his art, an art which is essentially a perpetual meditation on visual phenomena. Vibrating hues and shimmering nuances that constantly change with the viewer's perspective and the ambient light make for captivating impressions and an invitation to look closer, linger longer and dive deeper into Wakultschik's universe.
Referencing the twin character of the Algol star constellation and demonstrating his equal mastery of two of his signature techniques, Wakultschik's pendant artworks Algol I, from the work series Optical Portraits Wood Upright, and Algol II, from Optical Portraits Wood Flat, mirror each other in motif, while differing in effect.
As is typical for Wakultschik's cosmos of characters, he presents a young woman of exceptional, indeed celestial beauty. With this representation not of an individual, but rather of an ideal, Wakultschik nods toward Renaissance painters, while rooting his message in our own time: By way of superhuman aesthetics, Wakultschik elevates his women into the realm of goddesses, prototypes of the unattainable ideal of beauty of the 21st century, the likes of which can only be found in the heavens above.
(Nathalie Krall, M.A.)
Maxim Wakultschik, Algol II, 2019, Optical Portrait Wood Flat-series, lacquer on wood on Kapa board behind museum glass, 180 x 135 x 4.5 cm