Yves Sussman. Abduction of the Sabines

The Pushkin Museum to them. A. Pushkin was the first of the Russian museums to systematically form a collection of cinema, media and digital art. A new event was the entry into the collection of the video installation “The Rape of the Sabine Women” (2006) by Eve Sussman (born 1961, USA), acquired with the support of Marianna Sardarova.

The Pushkin Museum to them. A.S. Pushkin is at the beginning of the formation of a collection of new media art. It includes works, on the one hand, created based on works from the museum’s collection, as well as interpretive themes of classical art and outplaying traditional iconography, and on the other, reflecting changes in the relationship between the work and the audience and affecting their perception. The collection of new media has already included the works of such important artists as Gary Hill (USA), Marianne Heske (Norway), Fabrizio Plessis (Italy), Taus Makhacheva (Russia), the art group "Provmyza" (Russia). The video installation by Yves Sussman “The Abduction of the Sabine Women” will complement the collection with the work of a recognized artist of international level.

Modern American artist Yves Sussman is one of the most significant figures working in the field of media and video art. One of the artist’s works, the video installation “89 seconds in Alcazar” was already presented to the audience in the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin in the framework of the exhibition "Impressions 2. 0" (01. 01. 2015-15. 02. 2016). Sussman’s works were exhibited at the Kunsthall in Vienna (Austria, 2011), MoMA (USA, 2004, 2010), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (USA, 2008), the Museum of Modernity - Hamburg Station (Germany, 2007) and many other important art institutions. The artist participated in the Whitney Biennale (2004), Istanbul Biennale of Contemporary Art (1997). Her works are in the collections of MoMA (USA), Kaisha Foundation, Bank of America, Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA), Chicago Museum of Modern Art (USA).

The one-channel video installation by Yves Sussman “The Abduction of the Sabines” was first shown at the International Film Festival in Thessaloniki (2006), after which it was repeatedly exhibited around the world as part of group and monographic exhibition projects, and was also shown at the Moscow International Film Festival (2007). The video installation, inspired by Jacques Louis David’s painting “The Sabines, Stopping the Battle between the Romans and the Sabines,” (1799), also exhibited references to the works of Nicolas Poussin and Peter Paul Rubens. Working with the Roman myth, as well as its representation in the history of art, the artist carries out metacultural analysis, transferring the Roman plot to the present. The action takes place in five most important symbolic spaces - the Pergamon Museum and the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, the Athenian meat market and the house on the coast (built in 1961 by the pioneer of modernist architecture in Greece Nikolaos Valsamakis), in the Roman amphitheater, located on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The heroes of “The Abduction of the Sabine Women”, representing the struggle of the power forces, metaphorically go through various eras, which are represented by architecture. In this work, Yves Sussman develops the genre of "animated paintings", characteristic of her work.

The video installation “The Abduction of the Sabine Women” is one of the author’s most famous works, which largely determines the artist’s face in art. This work of the highest level seems to be extremely important for the collection of the Pushkin Museum to them. A.S. Pushkin. This work by Yves Sussman, regularly referring to the history of art in his work, rethinks the themes and methods of old masters and enters into a dialogue with the museum’s collection. Recognized at international exhibitions and festivals, the video installation "The Abduction of the Sabine Women" will be an important part of the further exhibition and educational activities of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin.

Olga Shishko, head of the department of film and media art: “Yves Sussman is one of those artists who turns the way of seeing the world, builds a new dialogue with history and with the masterpieces of great masters that we have known since childhood. She works with a new palette - video. The viewer remembers the brilliant work of Yves Sussman "89 seconds in Alcazar", shown in the halls of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin four years ago. She refers us to the work of Diego Velazquez "Menin" (1656) and is an attempt to "revive" the canvas of the Spanish master. "The Abduction of the Sabine Women" is a brilliant continuation of work with the past, but in a new plastic game. "

Marianna Sardarova, founder of the Ruarts Foundation: “I am very pleased to donate the landmark work of the American artist Yves Sussman“ The Abduction of the Sabines ”(2006) to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts as part of our fruitful partnership. Supporting contemporary art, developing the concept of women’s rights and freedoms, I consider it important to attach this work ¬ – modern understanding of the ancient Roman myth to the museum’s collection and its accessibility to the general public. ”