“We are identical twins" - told Maria and Natalia. Their art is based on this special human connection. All work is developed together, with much of their art focusing on, or motivated by the theme of doubling. Nevertheless, it is important that one understands the Petschatnikovs as one artistic unity.
“We are identical twins" - state the two Russian artists Maria and Natalia Petschatnikov (*1973, St. Petersburg). Their art is based on this special human connection. All work is developed together, with much of their art focusing on, or motivated by the theme of doubling. Nevertheless, it is important that one understands the Petschatnikovs as one artistic unity.
The Petschatnikov’s work has stemmed from a classical painting education, from which the sisters have developed a spatial visual language. Thematically the artists focus on the notion of our everyday lives, an existence dominated by the fields of science and communication. Through their installation work, Maria and Natalia Petschatnikov have developed an aesthetic that takes their efficiency and seriousness ad absurdum.
The first exhibition at HERRMANN & WAGNER displays the installation „Double Take“, recently developed in an artist-in-residence program in Finland. With a sense of irony, the artists analyse the properties of a virtual computer space. They dare to experiment,
translating their understanding of a virtual world into a physical spatial installation. The outcome is an accessible “Matrix". A pixel world of white cubes, with layers and duplicates. What is real here? Which one of the twins’ portraits is a copy? This is a double take on reality. To comprehend what is actually going on in this installation, the viewer must look twice.
Maria and Natalia Petschatnikov’s artistic training was undertaken in the cities of St. Petersburg, Paris and New York. Numerous ‘artist-in residence’
Opening: June, 23, 2006
Herrmann & Wagner
Koppenplatz 6 -Berlin
Tue - Sat 12 - 6 p.m.