PROXIMAL DUALITY Sergei Isupov

PROXIMAL DUALITY

drawings and sculptures

May 25, 2022 - October 31, 2022

Opening June 11, 2022 4-10 pm

In his sculptures and drawings, Sergei Isupov explores dialectics embedded in the human condition by setting two or more themes - a face of the other, a male and a female figure, or an animal and a human - within a tight composition. Because of this proximity, tension grows when these two elements come together. And in this tension, there is closeness and there is duality. The resulting line separating the elements is alive and constantly shifting, giving the works an indeterminate vibrancy.

Several large-format drawings made with meticulous graphite markings on paper are central to the exhibit. Among them, "Connection" depicts two faces, almost touching, vaguely resembling the artist and his wife. As they gaze away from us, the scale and technique of the drawings are engaging, enveloping the viewer.

I see this as an emotional starting point of Isupov’s work. Two people who are in intimate proximity, mirroring each other, but at the same time, pulling away slightly. And his work continues to develop this theme: how two other entities can be in close proximity and at the same time stay divided.

Isupov provides a metaphysical map of this process. He constantly shows this phenomenon, sometimes more surrealistically, where people and animals mix, or, in another interpretation, a being, and their animal nature, which is present deep in them.

An exhibit presents Isupov's graphite drawings, ceramic sculptures, and an “Earth and Sky” large-scale outdoor piece showing various ways in which the artist resolves the tension of Proximal Duality.

Exhibit curated by Grigori Fateyev

More about the design of TurnPark Art Space: https://www.aformsa.com/turn-park