All exhibitions
It's a trap!
Exhibition of young photo artist Maxim Ivanov
December 11, 2019 - January 26, 2020
Rating: 6+
As the artist fostered the idea of a new exhibition, he first compared human knowledge with a spider's web. And then he stated that works of art and technology are ingenious traps some people seek to lure others into but every so often end up in themselves.
This is Maxim Ivanov's third solo show of the year 2019. At the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, visitors were treated to works from four different projects, which were displayed in three halls:
1. Logos is web. Direct-to-fabric printing, gold-thread embroidery, video
2. Hunters' Traps. Photo diptychs, interactive installation, video
3. Digital Photographs. Diptychs of photographs and prints
4. Avatars. Photographs displayed on smartphone screens
One of the curators of the show, producer Marina Levashova, best known for her exhibitions Robot Ball staged at ARTPLAY and RoboStation at VDNKh in Moscow, said:
"I met Maxim this spring after I stumbled upon one of his 'astronomic' works and I just knew I have to stage a big show of his works at the Cosmos Pavilion at VDNKh. Maxim Ivanov is an exciting and very talented artist. Sixty thousand people came to see his exhibition The Winners. This photo project, The Winners, reflects on the future of this country; it is an attempt to get some insight into how new stars of international science are born and foretell the lives and careers of these gifted young winners of the all-Russian astronomy contest for schoolchildren. Maxim met these kids when they were making some of their first big choices in life. He showed just how fragile and ethereal they are in one of their first conspicuous victories. (Next year, famous European curator Rui Prata and Elina Heikka of the Helsinki Museum of Photography will present this stunningly beautiful project as part of the main program of the photo festival Imago Lisboa)."
Anna Evarld, an art collector and the owner of interior design gallery AE Details, who co-curated the exhibition, said:
"Maxim Ivanov's new show is about the mysteries of modern-day transformations, about the links between today and the digital future. Maxim is a young artist, whose works already grace museum collections and the homes and offices of ambitious art collectors".
Maxim's latest project, presented at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, was backed by author Dmitry Shulman, who is known as a man of many hobbies, including hunting. Traps are a secret, unseen part of the sport of hunting. "Traps have been man's inconceivable fantasy for thousands of years. Maxim has come up with an artist's vision thereof, which is really unusual."
Maxim Ivanov describes himself as follows.
"I am a Russian photographer. My creative work is centered around Heraclitus's idea of becoming, Nietzsche's will to power concept and Edmund Burke's marginality concept. In my works, I use conceptual methods to extol the greatness of nature and man."
Educational background:
University of Hertfordshire
First Class BA (Hons) Photography, 2014 - 2017
British Higher School of Art and Design
Intensive course in jewellery photography, 2015
British Higher School of Art and Design
Foundation in Art and Design, 2013 - 2014
Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Political Science Faculty, 2011 - 2013
Contests:
Photobookfest Dummy Award, Special Mention, 2018
Bienal de Cerveira, shortlist, 2018
Creative Review Photography Annual, prize winner, 2017
Photobookfest Dummy Award, shortlist, 2017
D&AD New Blood Awards, prize winner, 2016
D&AD New Blood Awards, prize winner, 2015
Union of Photo Artists of Russia, Festival: The Youth of Russia for Peace and Mutual Understanding, prize winner, 2010
Selected publications:
Creative Review Photography Annual, UK, 2017
Chois Gallery Magazine, vol. 37, China, 2016
Sostav.ru, Russia, 2016
Scopio Network, Portugal, 2015
Mutante Magazine, Portugal, 2015
Revolution Jewellery magazine, vol. 43, Russia, 2015
Group exhibitions:
BA (Hons) Photography Alumni Exhibition, British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow, 2019
20th Cerveira Biennial, main program, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal, 2018
20th Cerveira Biennial, special program, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal, 2018
6th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, special program, Center for Contemporary Art MARS, Moscow, 2018
Photobookfest, The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, 2018
Creative Review Photography Annual, The Siding, London, 2017
Reveal, British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow, 2017
Photobookfest, The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, 2017
Surface, Art Korobka Gallery, Moscow, 2017
City, to the Artists; Artists, to the City, Museum of Moscow, Moscow, 2016
Turning Point, Center for Creative Industries Fabrika, Moscow, 2016
D&AD New Blood Exhibition, Old Spitalfields Market, London, 2015
Behind Closed Doors, held as part of 31 Days Fotofest, Artplay, Moscow, 2015
FAD Degree Show, British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow, 2014
Union of Photo Artists of Russia, Festival: The Youth of Russia for Peace and Mutual Understanding, Vladimir, 2010
The Winners show:
• 6th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, Moscow, 2018
• 20th Cerveira International Art Biennial, Portugal, 2018
• Maxim Ivanov's solo show at the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center at VDNKh, Moscow, 2019
• Buksir Gallery, Lipetsk, 2019
Artist's works are owned by:
• The Fragments Attributed to Heraclitus, a photo book in the collection of the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, Russia
• Soft Power photographic painting, digital prints in the collection of the Cerveira Art Biennial Foundation, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal
• And more
