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Abraham Lubelski
Ekatherina S., Dance of the Earth 17, 2007. Courtesy of the artist.Russian artist Ekatherina S.’ extraordinary, theatrically conceived work offer a rich, convincing alternative experience for those disturbed by the self-indulgence, cynicism and thinness of so much contemporary art. Ekatherina S. harnesses and manipulates perceptual reality in her work, using as a foundation startlingly vivid painterly sequences of events or phenomena such as birth, life, sex, nature and loss.
Born in Leningrad, Russia Ekatherina S.’ work highlights elemental images, using dramatic ploys such as contrasts in scale, shifts in focus, mirrored reflections, staccato images and multiple or layered surfaces. Sensory perception for Ekatherina S. is a spiritual activity, one that leads to a heightened awareness of both nature and culture—this thought process points to a new kind of realism—one that is engaged with the actual processes of life. The result is a combination of classic archaeological/architectural vistas with layers of graffiti-like mark making. Using images from the past, the archaeological details are then united with a “futuristic kind of script” inspired by calligraphy and graffiti.
A diverse and curious artist Ekatherina S.’ recent work "Mystery of Woman" highlights her interest in self-representation and photography. Paint and photographic imagery of the artist are layered and composed according to a working method the artist sees as being similar to the process of drawing in that you are looking at something and re-presenting it in as direct a way as you can. In each of Ekatherina S.’ working methods there is a balance between action and contemplation. Colors are also paired with their opposites: red complemented by green and blue with orange. Through such color contrasts Ekatherina S. is able to suggest a special narrative using color to define rather than merely complete the form.
In “Dance of the Earth 1”, for instance the paintings are characterized not only by the layering of photography with paint, but by a fluid brush dragged wet across the surface at great speed and outlined in intense reds and oranges. This subtle image is one of a several exquisitely sensitive layered “drawings” that Ekatherina S. has produced more recently. The delicately incised ink lines of this work, drawn over washes of color evoke clouds of ambiguity. For her abstraction in nature is “not amorphous or formless”. The images are just fragments extracted from their figurative context”. Ekatherina S. uses line, not so much as a means of representation, but in a more abstract way, to express feelings and moods; retaining the notion that the artist role is to suggest, not define. The process of painting is an intensive almost performative act for the artist, “I feel like a godhead creating a new world” the artists notes stating that “diluted in water, the paint takes on a life of its own”. Ekatherina S. senses unity everywhere, believing that “Everything is interconnected in an invisible net, a single structure inaccessible to the human mind”.
The paintings have a visceral punch that obviates deconstructive analysis, in this series, Ekatherina S. employs universally understood images to create complex perceptual experiences. The image and concept are dramatically juxtaposed and poetically structured in an attempt to heighten sensory experience, and in some cases to call it into question. Ekatherina S. is concerned with making the spectator aware of the connections between body and mind, contemplation and action, inner and outer reality dealing with themes of perception, memory, and self-knowledge. The first thing that strikes one about Ekatherina S.’ paintings is the richness of their color, and the second thing one notices is the peculiarly archaic character of her dynamic figures. In ‘Identity 1’ Ekatherina S. uses the classic portrait as a vehicle to explore form, color and shape. These elements are explicitly the subject of the painting and given equal emphasis. The dynamic relationship between the forms is emphasized by the intensive outlines and flat unmixed color forms. Recently her palette has become increasingly vibrant. Bright passages of color are vigorously applied in seemingly spontaneous brushstrokes. However in actuality Ekatherina plans her compositions very deliberately according to formal principles, the work creates a type of visual sound through patches of lines and color—the work is made to listen to. The juxtaposition of the illusory and the manifestly tangible extends the range of our reading of the work time and again. It is a tour de force. The power that lies within Ekatherina S.’ work is the fusion of such competing extremes as figuration and abstraction, illusionism and truth.
