The project’s idea lies in ge-neralizing the human experience in organizing the chaos of the universe by artistic means, expanding worldview borders and mythologizing earthly life. This idea alludes to Aristotle’s notion of Space as “the grandest artistic creation.” It appeals not only to Man in Space, but also to the internal human world, that is its “microcosm.” The exhibit will contain not only artistic but also scientific elements: it will pre-sent documents and amazing artifacts from specialized space museums and institutions. Oleksandr Solovyov, a famous art expert and critic, deputy director general for museum and exhibit activity and art marketing at Art Arsenal, will be the curator of the “space” project.
Works by artists from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Austria, Germany, France, the US, South Korea and other countries will be presented. “Space Odyssey 2011” will comprise works from the last four decades, as well as modern ones created specially for the event. Among the 130 artists participating in the project are Pawel Althamer, the art-duo Semiconductor, the group Roсhus Aust/Re-Load Futura, Alicia Framis, Joanna Varzha, Oleh Kulyk, Arsen Savadov, Illia Chichkan, Serhii Bratkov and others.
Besides paintings (one of the most interesting projects, the pictorial series “Aliens” by the Belarusian Aleksandr Nekrashevich, is made up of modified portraits of prominent figures of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the heyday of “Belarusian baroque”) and photo works (in particular, an exhibit of photos from the NASA archives, taken by the Hubble space telescope), the project focuses on new media, without which one cannot imagine modern art’s development. Specifically, it deals with performances, kinetic sculptures, laser projection, etc. The project’s format also presupposes extensive movie programs and numerous educational activities, lectures, roundtables, meetings with legendary artistic personalities, and also a program for children.
The exhibit “Space Odyssey 2011” will be held in Art Arsenal until April 28.
