Volodymyr Kuznetsov
My Grandmother's Room
Kuznetsov’s artistic practice is based on close observation and interpretation of reality. In his works he brings to daylight the communicative potential of traditional techniques and modern Ukrainian folklore. He often uses formats taken from the margin of practices commonly perceived as artistic. Reaching out for the aesthetics of everyday life, he tries to preserve the memory of places and events which tend to be forgotten. Presenting the tension between the private and public, the intimate and disclosed constitutes a significant motive of his works which are very diversified from the formal point of view.
In his work "God, I love you! (Vova)" he used a communication channel typical for teenagers in love – a sentence painted in big white letters on the asphalt between blocks of flats.
"VIP car. Monument to the 90s" is a BMW with a traditional Ukrainian embroidery “imprinted” on the car body with a series of live ammunition shots. During the international festival ArtPole in Unizh in Ukraine the artist opened his temporary "Museum" in a ruined building which over the years has changed its function turning from monastery rooms to woodworker’s workshop and next to a canteen. All the objects found there, such as pieces of furniture, worn-out shoes, tools, were presented in the "Museum".
The concept of the exhibition entitled "My grandmother’s room" constitutes an attempt at capturing a foggy recollection from the artist’s childhood, whereby a blurred photo and an impression somehow stored in memory are used as a reference point. The walls and furniture of the grandmother’s tiny bedroom were covered with embroidered fabrics.
The exhibition presents the artist’s contemporary works, as well as embroideries made by his grandmother Ulyana in the 1970s and 1980s. In Kuznetsov’s artistic output embroidery has a symbolic meaning – it turns into a medium offering practical advice, poetry, recipes, general truths about life or intimate inscriptions – all of which are of equal importance.
