The first in Russia large-scale show of the works of American artist David Datuna will start on October 18, 2013 at international GALLERY SHCHUKIN in “Vetoshny” art-center located right next to the Red Square. The focal point of the exhibition titled “EYE TO EYE” will be an installation juxtaposing two Russian rulers separated by 100 years of history. Though provocative, portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II created in original author’s technique do not confront each other but present starting points in the coordinates of author’s perception of the selected period in Russian history.
Covered with the armor of lenses, the pictures hypnotize the spectator with fluctuating chromatism, dazzle by thousands of refracted iridescent images and their meanings. This cobweb entwines grandeur and power, decay and devastation, renaissance and prosperity.
At first sight David Datuna’s works suggest direct allusions to Jasper Johns, which sound as a refrain in the picturesque symbolism of flags and collages. However, David develops his own aesthetic space with almost Pollock’s expression, fixing subtle and virtually uncatchable multidimensional beauty enchained in the body of a picture. Datuna extends the borders of artistic space, discovering this beauty after writer Dostoyevsky in the optical “refraction” of the opposites.
David Datuna, 39, is an American artist, creator of installations and art collector. Having appeared in the 2000s, Datuna is now one of the best selling and expensive authors in the modern art. An ardent art collector, he himself has become an artist whose works are part of other collections. His portrait of Vladimir Putin “Putin – Mona Lisa” was sold for USD 269 000, the installation “Steve Jobs” for USD 210 000, and the work “Vodyanova – Love of Millions” for EUR 600 000. David Datuna works with portraits of state leaders, celebrities, historical figures that have become icons of a kind. No less is he interested in the symbols of state power, flags in particular. Breaking images into fragments, using prisms and broken glass Datuna turns a picture into a puzzle or a collage and makes the spectator peer into familiar images and perceive a new meaning in them. Datuna’s original manner has become so distinct and recognizable that iTunes launched a mobile application called Viewpoints, which lets users turn pictures into “installations in Datuna’s style”.
GALLERY SHCHUKIN, office in Moscow:
Phone : +7 495 777 97 19; e-mail: art@galleryshchukin.com
Press accreditation:
Anna Karabash
Phone: +7 903 139 74 14
e-mail: Karabash@buro17.com
Polina Dzyuba
Phone: +7 916 351 01 07
e-mail: polinadzyuba@gmail.com