Alena Kuznetsova

Biography

Born in 1986.

Received a complete higher education in the specialty “Fine Arts” (KNUBA, 2008).

A member of academic and new media art schools, workshops, residencies.

Teaches academic painting and color studies since 2010.

Since 2007 he has been working in the genre of non-objective painting.

Since 2009 conducts exhibition activity. Takes part in many leading group projects as well as eight solo exhibitions in Kyiv galleries and museums. She refers to the themes of color, media asceticism, the presence-absence of the image, language and fluidity in her artistic practice. Works with the media of painting, graphics, installation, photo and video.

Works

Series "Social Bodies", 2021

CeramicsWhat particularly interests me about mushrooms is that they are the most mysterious, the oldest living organisms and probably the least studied kingdom, endowed with their own intelligence. They are mycelium, fungi - everywhere inherently closer in genome to humans than to plants! This is a web that connects different organisms and transmits information, a prototype of the Internet. These are saprophytes, they are at the end of the food chain, and they are the closest of all other beings to the phenomenon of death. They decompose matter, transforming it into nutritious soil for further life, and thus they are also at the beginning of the chain! They teach us not to fear death, as it is an integral part of the programme. There is a theory that psilocybin itself contributed to the fact that primitive humans began to self-awareness, discovering language and tools...
The fruiting body of a mushroom (the part above the ground, the visible part) is just a small part of the entire reality of fungi; this is the external "social" part. Therefore, the metaphorical portraits of those around us in the form of fantastical mushrooms are also an attempt to accomplish the "impossible" task of telling about a person's character through ceramic sculpture. It is more about consciousness in the first instance, however, how we perceive ourselves and others, and mushrooms are an interesting inspiring auxiliary example of how diverse external forms can be.