Title of the Work of Art:

In Passing

Date of Creation:
2006

Genre:
Cityscape
Period-Movement:
Impressionism, Neo Impressionism
Technique:
Painting
Materials:
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions:
Approx 48 x 36 inches


Artwork Description:
A vitrine of mannequins in Manhattan's SOHO, once a Prada store, becomes for the artist a tableau of American surrealism, an encounter with a reality utterly alien to 2000s Belarus. This sense of dislocation is heightened by the stark cultural contrast: while shop windows in Minsk during that period reflected a functional, restrained aesthetic shaped by the lingering influences of Soviet utilitarianism and economic scarcity, the displays of Prada in New York City embodied an ethos of excess and theatricality, openly celebrating consumerism and spectacle. Burnt umber, mars orange, beige, and red conjure a palette both urban and dreamlike. These paintings, exported to Sweden with the aid of a Stockholm gallerist-friend, found their way into Swedish collections, carrying with them the artist's astonishment at the spectacle of the new world.