Χάριτες (Graces) by ANDRII STRAKHOV
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Online Artist Talk with ANDRII STRAKHOV: Tuesday, May 9th at 11am PDT RSVP
Opening Reception: Friday, April 21, 2023, 5:30-7:00pm HANSELL GALLERY RSVP
Regular Exhibit Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-6:00pm, and by appointment ([email protected])
On View: April 21 - May 20, 2023
All collages are for sale. Please inquire at the PRS Bookstore.
PRS presents an exhibition of collages Χάριτες (Graces) by ANDRII STRAKHOV, a Ukrainian artist whose striking, meticulously composed images evoke a sense of mystery, fantasy, and horror.
STRAKHOV’s work manages to be singular and distinctive while also engaging in dialogue with and bearing the marks of its powerful influences. The artist’s involvement in the Ukrainian counterculture and underground art scenes in his youth are discernible in his approach to collage itself, as images from medical textbooks and old magazines are regularly juxtaposed with those from censored publications, creating an often psychedelic or otherworldly atmosphere. His interests range from esoteric mythology and traditional Slavic folklore to the familiar, quotidian struggles that individuals undergo. This combination of universal and personal is prominent in his work, with its dynamic combination of our collective imaginings—mysticism, fantasy tales, monsters, and demons—with the dread, isolation, and fear that we must often endure alone as we confront a hostile world.
STRAKHOV’s ability to bring into harmony such opposing forces makes for artworks that are profoundly stirring on an emotional level, with menacing and beautiful images side by side, innocence often transmuted into something demonic, and a sense of earned redemption as a consequence of suffering and pain. While engaging with his works often means looking into what appears to be an alien and chimerical landscape, the experience of being human in our world is central to each of these pieces.
"Χάριτες (Graces) - this is an experience of visual expression of my ironic attitude to the generally accepted concept of 'beauty'. I wanted to create images that harmoniously combine elements devoid of aesthetic appeal. On the other hand, these works are my kind of tribute and are dedicated to the goddesses of beauty, who gives us creative inspiration."
–ANDRII STRAKHOV
ANDRII STRAKHOV (b. 1973) is a Ukrainian artist who mostly works through the medium of collage. After a childhood spent in the Urals, at the age of 13 he moved to Boyarka, near Kiiv, where he still lives, just in time to be affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He has since been involved in music and in the Ukrainian underground culture.
The imagery in ANDRII’s work draws heavily from the aesthetics of horror, of Slavic folklore, and of the dreamlike world of a fractured childhood.
GalleryX is a new gallery in Dublin, Ireland specialising in figurative and surrealist art. Their focus is on the fantastical, the sensual and the macabre; on alternative desire and tormented bodies; on the bizarrely beautiful, the unsettling and the grotesque. Our intent is to facilitate, curate and showcase new alternative work from emerging Irish and international artists and to host visiting artists from the global community. // www.galleryx.ie/
PRS would like to thank GalleryX in Dublin for co-hosting this exhibition. GalleryX exhibited STRAKHOV’s work in their gallery in May 2022, and they have sent a selection of the work to PRS for our exhibition.
Opening Reception: Friday, April 21, 2023, 5:30-7:00pm HANSELL GALLERY RSVP
Regular Exhibit Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-6:00pm, and by appointment ([email protected])
On View: April 21 - May 20, 2023
All collages are for sale. Please inquire at the PRS Bookstore.
PRS presents an exhibition of collages Χάριτες (Graces) by ANDRII STRAKHOV, a Ukrainian artist whose striking, meticulously composed images evoke a sense of mystery, fantasy, and horror.
STRAKHOV’s work manages to be singular and distinctive while also engaging in dialogue with and bearing the marks of its powerful influences. The artist’s involvement in the Ukrainian counterculture and underground art scenes in his youth are discernible in his approach to collage itself, as images from medical textbooks and old magazines are regularly juxtaposed with those from censored publications, creating an often psychedelic or otherworldly atmosphere. His interests range from esoteric mythology and traditional Slavic folklore to the familiar, quotidian struggles that individuals undergo. This combination of universal and personal is prominent in his work, with its dynamic combination of our collective imaginings—mysticism, fantasy tales, monsters, and demons—with the dread, isolation, and fear that we must often endure alone as we confront a hostile world.
STRAKHOV’s ability to bring into harmony such opposing forces makes for artworks that are profoundly stirring on an emotional level, with menacing and beautiful images side by side, innocence often transmuted into something demonic, and a sense of earned redemption as a consequence of suffering and pain. While engaging with his works often means looking into what appears to be an alien and chimerical landscape, the experience of being human in our world is central to each of these pieces.
"Χάριτες (Graces) - this is an experience of visual expression of my ironic attitude to the generally accepted concept of 'beauty'. I wanted to create images that harmoniously combine elements devoid of aesthetic appeal. On the other hand, these works are my kind of tribute and are dedicated to the goddesses of beauty, who gives us creative inspiration."
–ANDRII STRAKHOV
ANDRII STRAKHOV (b. 1973) is a Ukrainian artist who mostly works through the medium of collage. After a childhood spent in the Urals, at the age of 13 he moved to Boyarka, near Kiiv, where he still lives, just in time to be affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He has since been involved in music and in the Ukrainian underground culture.
The imagery in ANDRII’s work draws heavily from the aesthetics of horror, of Slavic folklore, and of the dreamlike world of a fractured childhood.
GalleryX is a new gallery in Dublin, Ireland specialising in figurative and surrealist art. Their focus is on the fantastical, the sensual and the macabre; on alternative desire and tormented bodies; on the bizarrely beautiful, the unsettling and the grotesque. Our intent is to facilitate, curate and showcase new alternative work from emerging Irish and international artists and to host visiting artists from the global community. // www.galleryx.ie/
PRS would like to thank GalleryX in Dublin for co-hosting this exhibition. GalleryX exhibited STRAKHOV’s work in their gallery in May 2022, and they have sent a selection of the work to PRS for our exhibition.
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ANDRII STRAKHOV on Graces
I created the Graces series between 2021 and 2022. It was made in a few days before the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The last works in the series contain features of disturbance and are filled with black melancholy.
The Graces series is part of an archive of my works which was sent, after the beginning of the war, to Ireland to GalleryX and saved by Giovanni Giusti.
The series "Graces" is an expression of my ideas associated with the horror of modern life and with the embodiment of mystical aspirations. I tried to transform my nightmares and dreams into weird images touched with visual poetics and sympathy for the grotesque.
In this way, the image of the Greek Chimera is close to me. It was not aware of its own ugliness and suffered from the general hatred of others. For me, the image of the Chimera is not just a monstrous creature, but a living, gentle and wonderful being that has no place in this cruel reality.
The Graces series is part of an archive of my works which was sent, after the beginning of the war, to Ireland to GalleryX and saved by Giovanni Giusti.
The series "Graces" is an expression of my ideas associated with the horror of modern life and with the embodiment of mystical aspirations. I tried to transform my nightmares and dreams into weird images touched with visual poetics and sympathy for the grotesque.
In this way, the image of the Greek Chimera is close to me. It was not aware of its own ugliness and suffered from the general hatred of others. For me, the image of the Chimera is not just a monstrous creature, but a living, gentle and wonderful being that has no place in this cruel reality.
