Exhibition of Valery Pchelin and Igor Mikhailenko "Sacred Forest" 12+

The project “Sacred Forest” (Heiliger Wald) unites two famous Krasnodar authors - painter Igor Mikhailenko and sculptor Valery Pchelin. The name of the exhibition refers the viewer to German-Scandinavian mythology, which refers to the emergence of the world from chaos. The sacred forest is an image of a reserve, a place of cult practices, a space that is opened to a person in a state of transition of the limits of being.

The exposition at the Erart Museum takes the viewer into a space of pure form and pure color. Black conditional objects of Bee create tension, which is resolved by the polyphony of emotions on the paintings of Mikhailenko.

The sculptural bioforms of Bee, made of wood by the method of rallying and constructing, vary in size from interior to human height. The artist talks about the presence in our reality of someone important, existing in a larger number of dimensions than humanity, about the action of forces not related to people.

If the work of Valery Pchelin is about the presence of metaphysical principles, then the large-format abstract painting by Igor Mikhailenko is about what happens to a person when they meet with them.

“At some point, the paint on the canvas begins to lay down as she herself needs, and I feel like a conductor. All this resembles a shamanic ritual, ”¬ – says Igor Mikhailenko.

The exhibition "Sacred Forest" will be open to spectators until July 22. Entrance to the exhibition - by a single ticket to the museum for 1 day or free of charge by subscription.

About the authors:

Igor Mikhailenko for achievements in the field of art in 2009 received the silver medal of the Russian Academy of Arts, in 2010 - the gold medal of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia.

Since 1990, the artist has taken part in more than 40 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. His works are stored in collections of the Krasnodar Art Museum of Fine Arts named after F. A. Kovalenko, the Krasnodar Regional Exhibition Hall of Fine Arts, Erart Museum of Modern Art, as well as in private collections in Russia, the USA, Israel, Lebanon and Germany.

Valery Pchelin is the author of many sculptures made of wood and monumental compositions in bronze. In 1995, 2005 and 2007, he was awarded first prizes in Krasnodar, and in 2009, the Grand Prix in sculpture at the Biennale Interregional Professional Competition of Fine Arts. In 2015 and 2017 received the first prize in the nomination “Sculpture” at the Novorossiysk Biennale International Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Since 1989, Valery Pchelin participated in more than 50 exhibitions in Russia and abroad.

The author’s works are stored in the collection of the F. A. Kovalenko Krasnodar Museum of Fine Arts, as well as in private collections in Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, Sweden and Austria.