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25/7/2007

Shimon Okshteyn

The State Russian Museum Marble Palace, St. Petersburg

Dialogue with Objects

The Kolodzei Art Foundation presents Shimon Okshteyn: Dialogue with Objects - solo exhibition by New York-based artist Shimon Okshteyn. This exhibition is the culmination of a two year collaboration between the Kolodzei Art Foundation, USA and the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. It is accompanied by a publication focusing on an in-depth exploration of Shimon Okshteyn's artistic practice.

Shimon Okshteyn: Dialogue with Objects brings together the work produced by the artist in the past 25 years since his immigration from the former Soviet Union. It includes a range of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and a selection of newer pieces that are among Okshteyn's most ambitious to date. This exhibition is not an attempt to construct a historical narrative but rather an introduction to the general audience and a new generation of Russians who grew up in the post-perestroika era the art of Shimon Okshteyn.

A native of Ukraine, Shimon Okshteyn was regarded as one of the most promising artists of his generation. He graduated from the renowned Odessa School of Art and immigrated to the United States of America in 1979. Since the early 1980s, Okshteyn has created seminal works that oscillated between paintings, drawings, and sculpture. Finding inspiration in his new environment and culture, Okshteyn succeeded in establishing a strong presence on the contemporary American art scene. Shimon Okshteyn has been exhibiting widely in the United States and his works are in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Museum. This is his first major exhibition in Russia.

Okshteyn's art defies an easy classification. He works primarily within representational modes, commenting on consumerism, sexuality and cultural memory. In his most recent work the commentary is further aided by utilizing elements of cultural ephemera and images appropriated from art history. By reproducing certain visual elements and by re-inventing others, the work included in this exhibition demonstrates Okshteyn's involvement with a broad range of interests and a personal and dynamic engagement with a wide social reality.

In conjunction with this exhibition, a 336-page, hard cover book Shimon Okshteyn.: Dialogue with Objects is published by Palace Editions with support from The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia and The Kolodzei Art Foundation, USA. The book is the first systematic attempt to contextualize Shimon Okshteyn's art. It includes an introduction by Evgenia Petrova and essays by Charlotta Kotik, Donald Kuspit, José Pierre, Natalia Kolodzei, and Jenifer Borum. ISBN: 0975482920.

Shimon Okshteyn is represented by Stefan Stux Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001.

Shimon Okshteyn, Dialogue with Objects is generously supported by lead donors Patricia M. Cloherty, CEO, Delta Private Equity Partners, Oscar Plotkin and Werner Schneider.

http://www.okshteyn.com

For information and images, please contact:
Natalia Kolodzei - Kolodzei Art Foundation, Inc. (USA) Tel. 1-732-545-8425; Fax:1-732-545-8428. In Moscow 7-495-952-0277 Kolodzei@KolodzeiArt.org - http://www.KolodzeiArt.org

The Kolodzei Art Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public non-profit organization founded in 1991, organizes exhibitions in museums and cultural centers in the United States, Europe and Russia, publishes books and catalogues on Russian art, and conducts Russian-American cultural exchanges.

Image: Reflection #3, 2007, graphite and charcoal on canvas with mixed media. 96" x 80" (240 cm x 200 cm)

Opening reception on July 26 at 4 PM.

The State Russian Museum
Marble Palace, Millionnaya str., 5/1, Saint Petersburg

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