Artist in Residence: Vasily Subbotin (RUS) / Black Sea Calling
Black Sea Calling ist ein Artist-in-Residence Austauschprogramm zwischen neun Kunstinstitutionen aus Ländern der Schwarzmeer-Region und fünf österreichischen Kunstinstitutionen.
Vasily Subbotion, lebt und arbeitet in Krasnodar, Russland.
KEX RESIDENZ: Beginnend mit 2012 vergibt die Kunsthalle Exnergasse Stipendien für eine Künstler/innen-Residenz im WUK.
Atelier / Ausstellung:
KEX RESIDENZ im Gastatelier 4 I WUK
Währinger Straße 59, Stiege 3 / Erdgeschoss, 1090 Wien
(selber Eingang wie zum WUK Saal, dort dann rechts und die Stiegen hoch)
The art group ZIP works and lives in Krasnodar, Russia. The group was created in September 2009 and consists of five young artists: Eldar Ganeev, Evgenie Rimkevich, the brothers Stepan and Vasily Subbotin, Konstantin Tchekmaryov. ZIP is located at the former Soviet factory called ZIP (which is a Russian abbreviation for Factory of Measuring Devices). Mostly, the art-group ZIP works with objects, installations and performance. ZIP tries to combine the past and the present in their artworks. Materials, found at the factory and dumps, get a new life at the contemporary art space.
Vasiliy Subbotin was born in 1991, Krasnodar, Russia. He lives and works in Krasnodar and studies at University of Culture and Arts, Art Industrial Academy, Krasnodar, Russia. Participant of BLACK SEA CALLING, Artist-in-Residence Exchange Program between 9 art institutions based in countries around the Black Sea and 5 art institutions in Austria in 2012, with a concluding exhibition and publication in 2013.
Stepan Subbotin born in 1987, Krasnodar. He lives and works in Krasnodar, Russia and graduated from University of Culture and Arts, Art Industrial Academy, Krasnodar, Russia.
Krasnodar is provincial Russian town. Today you cannot find any contemporary cultural institution there. Artistic activity is based on activism and self-organization. The old factory ZIP is the place where the group of artists decided to rent a space as atelier and experimental art space. They founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts KISI which is engaged in social and educational development. The main idea behind KISI is to set up a modern contemporary environment in Krasnodar and to establish relations and exchange with other regions in Russia, former Soviet Republics and Europe. ZIP art is associated with the Post-Soviet area and the problem and challenge of being a “provincial artist” at this specific location. The art group ZIP is also practicing a socio-political actionism.
The exhibition at WUK is dedicated to the question of overcoming cultural border. It’s not an easy task for the “provincial artist” to get involved and integrated into the global cultural space. Basically in Russia it happens due to the lack of contemporary art institutions in regions. But this can be accepted as the way to stimulate self-organization processes which create a natural cultural environment as young artists have lots of opportunities to get information and communicate to the other art collectives worldwide.
One of the specific selections for this exhibition is Hippie, a series of artworks created on pieces of waste and showing a hippie in Slavonic iconographic style. The portrait is duplicated on different materials, using different techniques, but with the same colors and proportion. The artworks are exhibited in a public space as all the waste used for these art pieces was also public. Because of these reasons, this symbol of freedom - Hippie - returns today, at the time of global consumerism philosophy erasing national identity, as well as moral.