Semyon Faibisovich
dal 28/4/2010 al 28/5/2010
Segnalato da
28/4/2010
Semyon Faibisovich
Regina Gallery, London
Moscow's Regina Gallery opens its new space in London with an exhibition of works by Semyon Faibisovich. 'Les Miserables' includes new paintings, most of which are shown for the first time, alongside highlights from his recent solo presentation at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2009), and his retrospective, 'Evidence', at Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2010).
Moscow's Regina Gallery is pleased to open its new space in London with an exhibition of works
by Semyon Faibisovich. 'Les Misérables' includes new paintings, most of which are shown for the first time, alongside
highlights from his recent solo presentation at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2009), and his
retrospective, 'Evidence', at Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2010).
The exhibition continues a relationship between the artist and Regina dating back to 1992. In May
of that year Faibisovich created a frieze-like installation entitled 'The Last Parade', consisting of
large-scale, multi-panelled canvases of street demonstrations wrapped entirely around the gallery's
perimeter. Regina had only just opened but the exhibition marked the end of Faibisovich's personal
portrayal of the Soviet era as explored throughout the 1980s in well-known series such as 'Moscow
Subway', 'At the Train Station', 'The Vodka Line' and 'Holiday'.
After a 12-year break from painting to focus on writing, Faibisovich staged his comeback exhibition
in 2008. His works can be read as a return to portraiture of life in Russia today. The main subjects
of these canvases are people from his home city. As in the 1980s, he has carried on working in
series, albeit now employing a decisive new style - developing canvases from photographs taken
on his camera phone, first printing the pixelated and Photoshopped compositions digitally onto a
primed surface and later tracing over the enlarged image with colour.
Included in the present exhibition are twelve works spanning each of the artist's most current
cycles: 'Trolleybus', 'At the Stop' and 'Razgulyai'. The former demonstrates Faibisovich's ongoing
focus on the everyman - not the central figure of the Soviet ideological universe, but rather the
outsider of Russian Capitalism. The latter two series, meanwhile, focus specifically on phenomena
from 'the new life', including representations of those individuals who lost everything and live on the
margins of society. 'Razgulyai' itself refers to the area of Moscow close to the artist's home.
The artist observes that, "these are the characters who are visually under our noses and in front of
everyone who leaves the house to get some groceries or take the Metro. We are not used to
paying them any attention. It is not customary", and so Faibisovich directs the visitor's gaze to
them and offers a challenge to the stereotyped concepts of wealth and glamour.
Semyon Faibisovich was born in Moscow in 1949. He has exhibited extensively both in Russia and
abroad. Notable group exhibitions include 'Behind the Ironic Curtain' at Phyllis Kind Gallery, New
York (1989), 'Adaptation and Negation of Socialist Realism' at The Aldrich Museum of
Contemporary Art (1990) and 'Berlin-Moscow/1950-2000' at Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2004). His
works are held in public collections in Russia, Germany, the USA and elsewhere. This is the first
major solo exhibition of Faibisovich to be held in London.
Private view Thursday 29 April, 6-9pm
Regina Gallery
22 Eastcastle Street - London
Tuesday - Saturday from 10 - 06 p.m.
Sunday, Monday closed