COURIER

ALEXEY VASILIEV

June 6 — June 14, 2012
Triumph gallery

LAUNCHPAD PROJECT

As part of Triumph Gallery’s Launchpad project, which showcases emerging artists, four exhibitions will be held in June. From June 5th to 14th, works by Valentin Tkach and Alexey Vasiliev will be on display on the gallery’s upper and lower floors. Curator Vladimir Potapov.

A return to the author—this could be the leitmotif of Alexey Vasiliev’s entire exhibition. Roland Barthes’s famous 1967 essay on the death of the author serves as a point of departure. We will break with the classical analysis of the work, established 45 years ago, to demonstrate that the artist’s work is complemented and enriched by the very figure of the author.

An Invisible Fracture Due to
Bananas, English Bananas,
Made in China
2010
Paper, acrylic, ink
200 × 120 cm

A return to the author—this could be the leitmotif of Alexey Vasiliev’s entire exhibition. Roland Barthes’s famous 1967 essay on the death of the author serves as a point of departure. We will break with the classical analysis of the work, established 45 years ago, to demonstrate that the artist’s work is complemented and enriched by the very figure of the author.

The exhibition is named after a common typeface—courier. Invented in 1955 by Howard Kettler, he initially considered calling it "Messenger," but then, clarifying that the letter "could be an ordinary messenger, or it could be a courier who exudes dignity, prestige, and stability," he settled on "Courier." This is the story of how a postman responds to senders whose letters, unanswered, have been returned to the post office. When writing replies, the postman had to use the courier font to avoid problems with handwriting forgery. Later, courier lost its author and became a computer font.

Vasiliev’s works are painted using acrylic and ink, with pencil bleeds through in places. Color is always defined locally and in large relationships. His paintings resemble paused modern "crazy" cartoons or equally humorous comics. The entire series consists of portraits of characters in strange poses and engaged in equally strange activities. The eccentric titles reinforce the impression: "No pasaran gogol," "Chinese pockmarked man found dead with jacket inside out, Made in China," or "Striped dress cuts easier." Viewing them leaves a feeling of strangeness, absurdity, and phantasmagoria.