Bezalel Art Gallery Presents: Circle of Ruins
-- Bezalel Art Gallery - March 2013 --
Artist Mila Strugatsky presents her collection, "Circle of Ruins" to benefit the Arizona Consortium for the Arts.
Politics Abound in Mila Strugatsky's Exhibition at the MonOrchid
-- PRLog - Apr. 30, 2013 - Phoenix --
The monOrchid curator Justin Germain did not intend to make May a month of artistic propaganda, it just fell into place. He states, "One of my passions is the interplay between art and politics and this month our exhibitions are layered with propaganda and critical dialogues about this relationship. We had the opportunity to mount these two exhibitions together to call on the public to take notice of very important issues."
Germain has been waiting to exhibit something political since he wrote his MA thesis, which focused on the US government's appropriation of modern art in its anti-communist campaign in the 20th century. This month his eye turns toward the lack of governmental support for the arts and the documentation of the work some local nonprofits do for the vulnerable demographics in Phoenix.
The monOrchid gallery features the paintings of Soviet born Mila Strugatsky, who escaped the communist regime with her family in 1973 and studied art in Paris and New York. The artist's travels and experiences created her cosmopolitan identity and universal perspective about the shared joys and pains of all people. Strugatsky's awareness of the injustices experienced around the world is an obsession she continuously explores through her art and set the mood in her paintings. Her works are intricately detailed and rich in composition and color. Each painting combines a unique mixture of classical mythology, biblical themes, or memories from a tyrannical regime with contemporary techniques. The body of work on display at the monOrchid borrows from the shared memory and re-frames the past in contemporary settings that envision the future by critically exploring social issues of tyranny and oppression.
Strugatsy moved to Phoenix in late 2012 and brought her paintings completed on the east coast. When she first met Mr. Germain she expressed that her previous work was "heavy and cold, much like Russia, or New Jersey." She moved to the valley to explore a new environment and how it would affect her mentality, and her painting.
The exhibition will include a multimedia installation, which is a critical statement about Strugatsky's view of the present state of public art funding and the political focus of the current US government. "Create not kill" is the artists sentiment for the work which will hopefully call attention to the appropriations of public funds to destructive programs instead of the arts. The show is accompanied by an installation by Ben Kern that further explores the lack of support and feedback artists receive when submitting project and exhibition proposals.
Mila Strugatsky: Splinters of Civilization
-- monOrchid Gallery - May 2013 --
I did not intend to make May a month of artistic propaganda, it just fell into place. One of my passions is the interplay between art and politics and this month our exhibitions are layered with propaganda and critical dialogues about this relationship. We had the opportunity to mount these two exhibitions together to call on the public to take notice of very important issues. I have wanted to develop a political exhibition since completing my MA thesis, which focused on the US government's appropriation of modern art in its anti-communist campaign in the 20th century. These shows focus on the power of art to cause awareness and critique our current social trends and the government funding of the arts and nonprofit social welfare organizations.
-- Justin Germain, monOrchid curator --