The “Moscow Contemporary” project launched by joined effort of Moscow
Museum of Modern Art and XL Gallery back in 2006, has turned into a
program aimed at clearing artists from layeres of cliche and critical
labels. In case of Irina Korina it’s hard to imagine what could have
been imposed on her work so that she is still written into the category
of “young artists”?
That is the real label, that evokes
at least two questions in those who have been following Korina’s career.
The
first question is should Korina be still on the “young” list, while
through the 10 years of her work she exhibited both in yearly solo shows
and almost all serious group exhibitions of Russian art, including
museum and international shows?
The second question is connected with
the first. The “young” artist is usualy the one in the permanent search,
including formal. Could we say that about Korina, with her easily
recognizable and distinct style and artistic methods? To answer at least
these two simple questions, we are showing here and now the four-level
installation at MMoMA. This exhibition includes some of Korina’s best
projects: 29 Transformations, Camouflage, Urangst, Positive vibrations,
Smiles, Night charge.
Korina’s speciality at Moscow art scene is
installation. It should be noted that probably none of her coevals could
match her in this complex genre. Her method is opposite to Moscow
Conceptual school (which were the pioneers of this genre in Russia and
traditionally are the strongest masters of installation). Conceptual
installation is “moving” from concrete things to some generalization or
esoteric “knowledge”. In the 90ies the installations had less narrative
and were built more like a spectacular gesture.
Korina is taking her
own very different path. Her usual materials are various “textures” of
the finishing and construction plastics. And each of her installations
at first glance seems to be a fantastic “something”, that demands
viewer’s effort to comprehend. If conceptual installation moves from
particular to whole, then Korina’s way is a visual abstraction, born
from concrete. Her installations are filled with various allusions in an
attempt to deliver the complex emotion, a vague reminder of some certain
piece of time in its visual and mental diversity. At first bewildered,
viewers soon start to scan the parameters of the time, nostalgia of the
message, and a witty plastic interpretation. This strange gap between
the “renovation” plastic forms and the psychological excercise - is
exactly the point of Korina’s interest, her know-how. Or a new way of
Russian installation.
Elena Selina