Ivan Gorshkov

2016

Painting, Diptych, 200x130 cm, 200x130 cm.
Materials: Digital printing on canvas, stickers, spray, oil, felt pen

The drawings, paintings, and objects in Hyperspace and the Anteater series were created using the artist’s signature method – ‘find and improve’: the artist mixes prints, oil paints, and stickers creating a multi-layered tautological collage. Inside, they feature separate digital collages – ‘photoshop contests’.

The name of the project refers to the fable The Dragonfly and the Ant, though it has been changed beyond recognition. It's as if we begin with a story about a grasshopper and an ant, but then the subject changes so drastically that we lose the thread of the narrative. Sometimes a work is even a combination of incompatible images, textures and scenes, but they are bound together by the painting technique itself – multiple layering. The artist creates a situation where the rules are constantly changing and we must find new approaches, so we have to resort to plans B, C and D. A portrait flows into a landscape, the landscape becomes a battle scene, then it turns into a texture and morphs back into a portrait. The elements of a painting swirl around, winking at each other, so the viewer can’t let his guard down.

The approach to scale is also worth noting. The paintings and sculptures have both macro- and microcosms: the eye on a large portrait is a separate portrait in itself, while all the elements of the picture are involved in a complex fluid relationship. Most of the stickers depict faces. The result is that everything is oversaturated with attitudes and personalities. As often happens in life, these staring faces await us in unexpected places.

About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.