Ani & Andrew Abakumovs

The round tondo format of some artworks is dedicated to the main female sacraments. The predecessor of tondo is a rather intimate object of Italian life - a tray on which a woman was served food after the birth of a baby.

This type of beauty and femininity - sublime, gentle, detached, balanced, mysterious, refers to the era of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, to the images of the Madonna.

However, in comparison with the ideal of the medieval Madonna, it is not the case of the refined genius of pure beauty. The heroine of the artwork demonstrates a certain facet of sensuality, impetuosity, and even passion. This is a woman who, with all her tenderness and vulnerability, is fully grounded.

The story of The Escaping Thread is, in fact, largely based on events that seem random. So, it all began with the fact that several years ago, Ani and Andrew were in search of "their" direction in art and learned about the string art technique. An accidental encounter with the latter's "pictures" inspired the Abakumovs to develop in the same direction. Note that the technique existed in monochrome. Bizarre forms fascinated artists and provoked a desire to create something similar, only deeper, lively, colorful, honest. So they started working. Having reached a certain level of skill, Ani and Andrew realized that they needed to move on and develop. There was no clarity about where and how to move - there were no correct plots. And one day, while walking around Paris, the Abakumovs accidentally dropped in at a flea market, where they found an album with old photographs. This event prompted them to work on a series of sensual portraits, the heroines of which were inspired by the beauties of the 10-30s of the 20th century.It turns out that the exhibition in the gallery is the result of overlapping several accidents. But do not forget that inspiration is also an accident, just like the first warm sunbeam in spring. Also, do not overlook the fact that any accident that starts the process is just a push, which will not turn into anything without the serious and thoughtful work of the artist.In other words, sometimes you need to allow accidents to happen, allow yourself to go with the flow. Then you will find yourself exactly where you needed to go. But in creativity, success cannot be achieved without labor - sometimes exhausting and painstaking.

Escaping thread.

Personal Exhibition "Escaping Thread"

ARTSTORY, Старопименовский переулок, Москва, Россия

ANI AND ANDREW ABAKUMOVS:

THE ESCAPING THREAD


from the 18th of September to the 22nd of November 2020

“The escaping thread” is the first Russian exhibition that
demonstrates the oeuvre of young Moscow artists Ani and Andrew Abakumovs.
Spectators now have an opportunity to meet extraordinary technique,
which is called string-art.

It is considered that string-art appeared in England in the middle of
the 17th century. There is an opinion, that British weavers created
openwork jewelry using almost the exact method. This artistic method
was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries – in a design and
learning context.

Ani and Andrew Abakumovs firstly saw this technique, when they got
acquainted with the other artist’s black and white works. They asked
themselves: is it possible to make a colorful art-object in the same
manner? Nobody did it before. Andrew Abakumov, who is a talented
mathematician and programmer, creates a unique algorithm, then he
prepares the “canvas” by driving in nails. And after that, Ani
Abakumova pulls on treads for hours, days, weeks, and months – that is
the way how the image gradually appears. The reach number of tones is
most likely made by a little number of colored treads: the color palette
expands significantly because of numerous crossings and layering. By
the way, it is interesting to know that it takes about 4 kilometers of
threads to make small round art work. And if to speak about a big
one, it usually takes 20 kilometers of threads.

Just like all artists, Abakumovs started their artistic path by
making endless copies of world-known paintings. To be more specific,
they referred to Pre-Raphaelites, who often used photos in the initial
stage of work. Main sources of inspiration for Abakumovi were “Lady
Lilith” by Dante Gabriel Rosetti and “Dolce far niente” by John
William Godward. Ani explains: “These works are so filled with
emotions, that it is doubly interesting to re-create them with treads…
From a very young age, we all are considered by social obligations
and inner anxiety (we are thinking about school, university, job,
family circumstances, and more global things)… When I firstly saw
“Dolce far niente” I felt that carelessness. I often return to
Godward’s painting to catch that feeling even for a moment. First of
all, I wanted to create an art-work with a therapeutic effect. Like
Matisse, who painted many joyful things during the war. In my opinion, art
is not the only reflection of reality, but it is also a way to run away
from it, to relax, to recover”.

Ani and Andrew Abakumovs artworks are not only about female beauty
but also about the state of mind. While choosing the subject, artists
prefer characters that convey emotions: calmness, love, and joy. And
they offer the viewer to stop, to feel the moment, and to forget about
the crazy rhythm of modern life.

Art-works, that were made for the current exhibition, is based on
vintage images, that were taken from an old album of 1910th and
1920th. Artists found the album in Paris, while they were walking
through one of the flea markets. That was the thing that pushed
Abakumovs to the new chapter of the development of their artistic system.
The authors of the project decided to give a new breath to these images,
to revive vintage cards. They became more complicated and multilayer,
but remained light and attractive.