Pavel Pepperstein – Landscapes of Future at the Venice Biennale

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to take some time off work to travel to Italy for La Biennale Di Venezia. For four days I was bombarded by the full gamut of art; some good, some very good and some that I really couldn’t decide whether it was shit – or I just couldn’t understand it.

Apparently I wasn’t around when they announced that art no longer needed (or indeed shouldn’t) be beautiful or meaningful.

I felt like like many of the artists had entirely forgotten to communicate anything of substance through their actual work, rather they’d opted to write a 300 page dossier in a vain attempt to try and justify what they couldn’t quite manage to convey visually.

Regardless, there were some artists and pieces that really captured my imagination and struck a chord with my being (without resorting to footnotes and quoting Baudrillard). one such example is the Russian artist Pavel Pepperstein.

In Pepperstien’s series Landscapes of Future he portrays witty, bizarre, yet aesthetically inspiring visions of the distant future in pen and watercolour. Referencing the past, Russian contemporary culture and psychedelic aspirations he’s able to create something quite special.

Usually I don’t like words in pictures, but on this occasion I made an exception.

The attack of the old houses

Escalibur sword, memorial to all the warriors of the earth. Year 2199

The huge spiral of DNK, erected in the West Sibyria in the year 3021

The artificial clouds in the year 2488

The monument of the yellow colour. Kamchatka 4307

Pavel Pepperstein, “Landscapes of Future”. 2009 Drawings, water-colour, different sizes

posted: December 7th, 2009 | by: tomagotchi | perma: link | tags: art, future, la biennale di venezia, pavel pepperstein, pen, russian, venice biennale, watercolour | 2 Comments »

---