The Subconscious Game

This is the title of a one-man show by Dnipropetrovsk artist Oleksandr Ivanov now showing at the Nef Gallery.

Contemporary authors and artists often and readily refer to the subconscious. The most popular way into it lies through sleep and dreams. Oleksandr Ivanov also sees his paintings in his dreams (or, as he prefers to put it, “on the threshold between dream and reality, when your consciousness, tired by the day’s work, gives way to a considerably stronger, all-embracing force”). However, the Dnipropetrovsk artist’s dreams undergo filtration, because he absolutely rejects “the decadence of darkness or aggression” (of course, it may be assumed that Oleksandr Ivanov’s subconscious is completely free of any negative images, but frankly this is open to discussion).

The results of this “journey to the subconscious” are unpredictable. Often in its mysterious depths one discovers a living room. Oleksandr Ivanov thinks it best to extract from his dreams only fantasies and tales that he transforms into luxurious costumed spectacles in the best romantic setting. However, into his fairy-tale world occasionally burst characters that have obviously avoided the process of “filtration” (e.g., A Myth and The Militant Subconscious), reports Oksana LAMONOVA.