Genadii Berёzkin
Monday, 28 June 2010
Work from his/her ouevre.
Apart from the stunning combination of visual complexity, accessibility, and kitsch, I have a very difficult time articulating anything about this work. I am not alone in this, as I can find nothing written anywhere about Berëzkin that is of greater length than this post has already achieved. What I find most compelling about these works is the difficulty in placing them chronologically. Many of the pieces fit squarely in a contemporary new media / technology-referrential space while others seem to read as Dadaist collage. Berëzkin seems quiet fluent in contemporary visual culture and subtle cues that refer to a wealth of other works and artists. In that regard, this work is powerfully contemporary and very appropriate to Tumblr blogs and blog posts that have no text. The referential nature of the works makes them readily accessible, yet beyond the visual payoff, I am still not quite sure what they offer; however for self-reflexive works on the state of contemporary visual habits and trends, this is a remarkably powerful contradiction.