Julia Bezshtanko
(St. Petersburg - Chelyabinsk)
THEY CAME
Installation
March 22 - April 1, 2011

Press release

Contemporary art gallery "OkNo"
presents the installation

Julia Bezshtanko
They came

March 22 - April 1, 2011

On March, 21 the gallery of contemporary art "ïËNÏ" celebrates its 10-anniversary.

Julia Bezshtanko's project "They came", chosen for this event, is symbolical. The installation will consist of footwear of staff and visitors of gallery, artists and actors, friends and colleagues. Usual destiny of all served things is to sink into oblivion. We could also throw out them, not reflecting about anything, but have decided to consider as an original data carrier. Having lost appeal and household functionality, the footwear has got a new meaning in opinion of the artist. It began expressive means and an occasion to talk about an exciting theme "presence and absence". For Julia creation of the installation has turned to mystical experience of sensations of owners of footwear. In the given situation the footwear represents not simply volume, but the volume filled with certain ether, spirit of the owner. The artist catches left time, reproducing analogue of a holographic picture in our mind through real things.

In the art practice Julia Bezshtanko frequently addresses to nonconventional and ready made materials. In March - April, 2005 at the first personal exhibition of the artist in OkNo gallery objects from ready made were presented - "King of Lyres" and "Man of motley", in which Julia used her footwear. In scenography for performance "Moth" by theatre "Maneken" kersey boots, being built in various lines could designate borders of space in one case, to associate with characters -- soldiers in another one.

Julia Bezshtanko is one of few Chelyabinsk artists, it is active and interestingly working in sphere of contemporary art. Now she lives and works in St. Petersburg. One of the main aims of the gallery -- help to the young artist in professional formation -- has been realized just in work with this artist. For 6 years there were 3 Julia's personal exhibitions in the gallery. OkNo represented works of the artist in Chelyabinsk, Ekaterinburg, Perm, Moscow, Poznan: performances "Bride" and "Liberation of water", art action "Contemplation" in art line of festival "Unifest" in theatre studio "Maneken" (2006); "Catalogue of body" in art space Spider & Mouse (Moscow, 2007), sculptures from padding polyester on 16 International triennial of sculpture in Center of culture "Zamek" (Poznan, Poland, 2009), sculpture "Emancipation" in project "Night in museum" of PERMM (Perm, 2009) and on exhibition of Ekaterinburg NCCA "Internal Ural" within the frameworks of 3 Moscow biennial of contemporary art (M'ARC Centre, Moscow, 2009).

Svetlana Shlyapnikova

Vernisage -- March 21, 2011 at 18.00.
Admission by invitation only.

The exibition will be opened for public from March 22 to April 1, 2011.

Working time:
Monday - Friday 15:00-19:00,
Saturday 13:00-17:00

Admission free.

The gallery address: 79A, Sonya Krivaya St.,
(entrance via theatre studio "Maneken"),
municipal transport stop: South Ural State University.

Art Director -- Svetlana Shlyapnikova
Gallery Director -- Dmitry Latukhin