Young Russian Artists: The Rite of Spring

The painting Black Hole is a still life as part of the Event Horizons project. This work is about connections and intersections of events, objects, thoughts and feelings.  This is the moment and coordinate in space, which united the chaotically flowing mass of everything that we know and have.

"My works were created as a search for essence behind images. The Untitled work (with the girl in the chair) was painted as a study of a person. I tried to find the boundaries of the human body and personality in general.

When I have something to say, I say it. My art is a reaction to what is happening here and now, in my studio and in the world globally. And I do this through references to well-known cultural images. I convey my ideas through figurative painting.  But I like to free things from their expected context and mix them with abstract elements. This creates tension and throws convention out the window. My painting is nervous and chaotic. Sometimes my work is difficult to understand, but I believe the viewer can feel it.” - Darya Maltseva, 2020.

Darya Maltseva is a student at Moscow's HSE Art and Design School.