Suzanne Tarasieve
Art Brussels 2017

Human condition and the prism of time

The project of Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve for Art Brussels 2017 is to build ties between the works of a renown german Neo-Expressionnist artist - Markus Lüpertz - and the Russian retrofuturistic group working under the name of Recycyle Group.
Despite a difference in generation, Markus Lüpertz and the Recycle Group have developed a particular interest in human condition and iconography (motifs, signs and symbols). Formally their works complement each other by carrying an ancient vision (archeological and mythological) while breaking with tradition. They also demonstrate how different mediums may be used to build bridges between generations and civilisations.
The Neo-Expressionnist work of Markus Lüpertz is characterised by a figurative, passionate and frequently provocative iconography (an artistic tendency which developed in the late 1970s in reaction to conceptual and minimalist art). The artist takes his themes mainly from Greek mythology. From the famous Dithyrambs, referencing Dionysus, to more recent works introducing Circe, Herkules, and Orpheus, Marküs lupertz depicts mythological subjects with an aesthetic approach blending classical and modern tradition. This unique approach gives weight to his mysterious narratives where fate of mankind is relentlessly questioned. It also provides him with powerful tools to explore the parallel between his own tumultuous existence and the lives of ancient divinities.
Recycle Group are two young artists from the emerging Russian scene. Created in 2008 by Andrey Blokhin (b.1987) and Georgy Kuznetsov (b.1985), Recycle Group uses recycled materials from the industrial era to explore what will become of our contemporary culture, with a focus on new digital, religious or political powers. Rendered as remains, their works take on the status of archaeological pieces, fixed in time. With 'retro-futuristic' aesthetics, the two artists contemplate the meaning of a civilisation in which digital power replaces traditional authority structures, whether religious or secular.This world in the future perfect is revealed to the viewer through symbolic and narrative artworks, characterised by the aesthetics of past generations: scripts, obelisks and ancient pyramids as well as Renaissance bas-reliefs.

After their first solo exhibition at the M’ARS Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow (2008), Recycle Group won the prestigious Russian Kandinsky art prize for young artists in 2010. In 2012, the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow hosted a personal exhibition of their work entitled Paradise Network.
Belonging to the young Russian art scene, the artist duo also participated in the Venice Biennale program in 2011 and 2013 with “Glasstress” and in 2015 with a personal exhibition organized as a collateral event, in the church of Saint Antonin.

Recycle Group’s work will represent the Russian Pavilion for the 57th Venice Biennale;.

The National Pushkin Museum (Moscow) will exhibit a personal exhibition of their works in June 2017.

Opening: Thursday April 20, 2017: 5pm to 10pm
Opening dates Friday 21 to Sunday 23 from 11am to 7pm