{"id":37321,"date":"2024-11-06T15:56:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T15:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=37321"},"modified":"2024-11-21T17:51:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T17:51:35","slug":"refracting-the-familiar-vladimir-chernyshevs-heavy-water-and-the-aesthetics-of-impermanence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/refracting-the-familiar-vladimir-chernyshevs-heavy-water-and-the-aesthetics-of-impermanence\/","title":{"rendered":"Refracting the Familiar: Vladimir Chernyshev\u2019s \u201cHeavy Water\u201d and the Aesthetics of Impermanence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 <\/span>Il Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The genesis of this otherness can be traced to Chernyshev<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s ongoing <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Suburban<\/span><\/span> Practices<\/span><\/span>\u201d\u2014<\/span><\/span>a project<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>which sees the artist erecting seemingly alien, out-of-place structures<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a bus stop, a totem<\/span><\/span> monument<\/span><\/span>, a castle<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>within an unnamed forest near Nizhny Novgorod. By inserting these recognizable<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>yet dislocated symbols into a historically barren setting<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>Chernyshev catalyzes<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>a transfiguration of <\/span><\/span>environment<\/span><\/span> from spatial convention to one of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>strangeness<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>prob<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> the boundaries between the familiar and the foreign. Given that the <\/span><\/span>core<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>his<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>art<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>lies in<\/span><\/span> practices of contemplative, cognition-driven observation, it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s unsurprising that <\/span><\/span>his<\/span><\/span> site-specific installations<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>haphazardly affixed in the forest<\/span><\/span> and<\/span><\/span> doomed <\/span><\/span>for<\/span><\/span> obscurity<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>demand to be <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>wanted to be seen<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>: u<\/span><\/span>ntil recently, one had to contact the artist <\/span><\/span>directly <\/span><\/span>through his website to obtain <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>coordinates of these <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>unearthly places.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> In the exhibition’s smaller hall, a carousel projector cycles through photo documentation<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>of the<\/span><\/span>se<\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span>underground<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>practices<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>along<\/span><\/span>side<\/span><\/span> other projects spanning the artist’s decade-long career.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 <\/span>Il Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chernyshev<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s graphics presented within the exhibition further exemplify th<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span> artist<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s preoccupation <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span> meditative, contemplative art<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>work that necessitates a recalibration of perception<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> His <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>dark screens<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> or hard-to-traverse landscapes<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>emerge <\/span><\/span>through<\/span><\/span> the <\/span><\/span>process of <\/span><\/span>rubbing carbon paper pigment onto textured white <\/span><\/span>sheets, a <\/span><\/span>technique that implies a degree of experimentation and prolonged interaction with the emerging topographies<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>he dynamic traces of their making lead to paper<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>cuts, surface<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>destruction, and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>consequen<\/span><\/span>tly<\/span><\/span>, the formation <\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>physical volume<\/span><\/span> effects <\/span><\/span>evocative<\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>natural phenomena<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>rippling waters, smoky skies, meteor showers, air currents.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 Il Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In opposition to <\/span><\/span>his<\/span><\/span> graphic pieces, Chernyshev <\/span><\/span>has created<\/span><\/span> a mural across the gallery<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> wall: <\/span><\/span>a scattering of barely<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>perceptible silver stars adrift<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>against a field<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>white.<\/span><\/span> While <\/span><\/span>eschewing<\/span><\/span>the sort of<\/span><\/span> flashy visual effects, <\/span><\/span>this image<\/span><\/span>serves to balance the exhibition, mediating between the thematic poles that drive <\/span><\/span>the artist<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> practice<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>spontaneity and control, the finite and the infinite, entropy and creation. The star<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span> recurring ind<\/span><\/span>ex<\/span><\/span> in Chernyshev<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s semiotic lexicon<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>functions as a symbol rich <\/span><\/span>in <\/span><\/span>cultural resonance, one that migrates across his diverse body of work.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>The star<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s centrality to Chernyshev<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>art<\/span><\/span> is such that <\/span><\/span>he <\/span><\/span>has even been dubbed a <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>stargazer<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>in one publication.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 Il Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also p<\/span><\/span>rominent in Chernyshev<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s visual vocabulary are the forms of the arch and rainbow<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>mythologems that further<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>elaborate the idea of transition and liminality. Represented in the exhibition by two works<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Rooted Rainbow III<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>(2023-2024) and <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Rooted Rainbow IV<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> (2022-2024)<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>these arched wooden panels are crafted from reclaimed<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>materials sourced in a former garden cooperative near Nizhny Novgorod (painting on wood being a hallmark of the Tikhaya studio). <\/span><\/span>Upon<\/span><\/span> these panels, Chernyshev labors equally with surface and depth<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> gradually<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>scratch<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> out patterns<\/span><\/span> and<\/span><\/span> applying layers of gouache, acrylic and fixatives. As the surfaces accrue complexity through this process of accumulation and erasure, the <\/span><\/span>gap<\/span><\/span> between the signified and the signifier widens: through the mechanism of repetitions<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>where the intricate web of iterations <\/span><\/span>is meant to<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>define<\/span><\/span> the contours<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>otherness<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> Chernyshev seeks to address the problem of the multiplicity of actual manifestations inherent<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>in <\/span><\/span>nature <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>nd<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>b<\/span><\/span>eing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heavy water, or deuterium dioxide, is a compound chemically identical to regular water, save for the substitution of hydrogen’s lighter isotope with its denser progenitor. Traceable in minuscule quantities across the globe\u2019s waterways, heavy water serves as a fitting metaphor for the concept of otherness that permeates the praxis of Vladimir Chernyshev (b. 1992), an artist from Nizhny Novgorod and aresident of the Tikhaya studio. His solo exhibition \u201cHeavy Water,\u201d organized by the Artwin Gallery with the support of collector Zoia Galeeva, was presented on October 31 at theNo.9 Cork Street space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":37324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[],"column":[],"class_list":["post-37321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37321"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=37321"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=37321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}