Exhibition "Olympus and Zion. Ancient and Hebrew myth in the sculptures of Grigory Zlatogorov"

The Russian Academy of Arts and the Vellum gallery present the exhibition Olympus and Zion. Ancient and Hebrew Myth in the Sculptures of Grigory Zlatogorov ”. The exposition will include about fifty works created by the sculptor in 2008–2020.

Olympus and Zion are symbols of two ancient civilizations, whose legacy is constantly present in our reality. The myth of antiquity and the myth of the Hebrew civilization are transformed and reinterpreted in the works of Grigor Zlatogorov. He is inspired by Greek sculpture, reflects on the heroes of myths and tragedies. The sculptor travels to ancient cities and participates in the excavations of the ancient city of Kiti, located one hundred kilometers from the legendary Panticapaeum, on the site of which the city of Kerch later appeared. Like the sculptors of Hellas, Zlatogorov works in bronze, either polishing it or leaving its surface rough, as if it had just been pulled out of the ground, and antique subjects in his sculptural series take place “here and now”.

Grigory Zlatogorov was born in 1965. Graduated from the Theater School of Art and Technology and the Moscow Polygraphic Institute; member of the Union of Artists. At the beginning of his career, Grigory Zlatogorov gained fame as an illustrator, capable of subtly and inventively embodying fabulous, biblical and poetic images. One of his most famous works is illustrations for the book "Alice in Wonderland".

Having become interested in the history and traditions of his family, Gregory began to study the technique of bronze casting, create sculptures of small forms, introducing poetry and the spirit of the past into it. Family memory is manifested in stories related to the traditions and mythology of the Jewish people, also inspired by the literary works of Shmuel Agnon and Sholom Aleichem. Creating sculptures on biblical and historical themes, performing a series of figures such as "12 Tribes of Israel", "Jewish Holidays", "Kleizmers", Grigory Zlatogorov seeks symbolic generalizations, leaving room for mystery and understatement.

The conventional section of the exhibition "Zion" contains iconic images of Hebrew mythology. Here "Noah", the hero of the work of the same name, thirsting for salvation, is blowing with all his might into the sail of his leaky, barely afloat, ark. Noah knows that his mission - thanks to the agreement with the Almighty - will end happily, but he understands the need to fill his sail himself.

The composition of the sculpture “Let My People Go” is being built like a theater stage. The huge head of the pharaoh deliberately contrasts with the small figures of Moses and Aaron, with the tiny warriors of the army of the pharaoh. Such an artistic technique reminds of the principle inherent in Egyptian art, when the status and power of a character was emphasized by the scale of the image, its grandeur.

The sculpture "Bezalel from the Town" is, in fact, an architectural portal, to which three steps lead. In the opening opening, we see a Jew from the town, who is concentrating on the majestic seven-branched candlestick. This is not just an artisan making a menorah for the synagogue space (large menorahs made of stone were placed in synagogues in late antiquity, and in the Middle Ages they began to be made of metal). By creating something for the synagogue, he establishes the most important connection for Jewish culture between the synagogue and the Jerusalem Temple, which was lost in 70 AD. That is why the artist himself becomes Bezalel (Veseliel in the Russian translation of the Bible) - the famous first Jewish artist who, by direct divine revelation, made the Divine Tabernacle with its objects and the Ark of the Covenant.

Among the works of Zlatogorov presented at the exhibition in the section "Olympus" is the work "Oracle": here is a magic staircase-antenna, crowned with a bust of the soothsayer-Pythia, which catches the echoes of the will of the gods, grows out of the head of an ancient deity, which could be found by a successful archaeologist somewhere somewhere between Cyprus and the Etruscan kingdom. Inside the head, as if damaged by centuries of waiting for excavations, fragments of even more mysterious artifacts are visible. The pattern on the helmet of the mysteriously smiling deity resembles both the lines of an archaeological excavation and a microcircuit that picks up signals going to Earth.

The sculpture "Myth" is a dynamic freeze-frame that combines the plots of the love story of Europe and Zeus on the one hand and Ariadne’s betrayal of her half-brother the Minotaur because of her love for the hero Theseus - on the other. The swift movement of Zeus-Minotaur, fetters the thread of Ariadne that entangled him. The deliberately rough black-and-green "skin" of Zeus-Mintaur contrasts with the finely worked, minted female figure, which either tries to hold the monster or is having fun, as if swinging on a sensual swing.

The sculpture "Atlas" is a mighty hero who holds on his shoulders the weight of the firmament, as the ancient Greeks saw him. Atlas of Grigory Zlatogorov holds the circle of the sky, in the center of which, suspended inside the circle, is the earth, a stone firmament. The eye of a connoisseur will see in Zlatogorov’s "Atlanta" the reflection of the great Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War, a contradictory character - that’s why the circle of heaven that he holds is not a calm firmament with heavenly bodies. These are scraps and debris, including horses from the procession of the Phidias ephebes, fragments of Greek architecture, and the faces of other heroes. And at the head of this cycle is Medusa the Gorgon, a demon whose terrifying smile hovers over the surface of the visible world. Instead of the sky, there is human history and civilization, instead of an impassive hero, there is a man who, with an effort of will, holds the weight. This is the cycle of beingresponsibility for which the person, the hero, the Atlas takes on.

Grigory Zlatogorov today is one of the few masters working in the classical manner, the foundations of which were laid by Evgeny Lanceray. Zlatogorov casts his compositions in a single copy, which makes the works rare (possible repetitions are always variable). His works are distinguished by the finest elaboration of details and decorative saturation. In the bronze works of the sculptor, one can see a special plastic expressiveness, a careful study of forms, an abundance of subtle details and details that literally fascinate the viewer.

Material prepared by Vellum Gallery.