“Traps” of the ocean and outer space

He titled his exhibit “Sargassum.” Sargassum is a variety of brown seaweeds that form the so-called sargasso seas (“oceanic meadows”). The Sargasso Sea has long been considered a “ship trap.” Mysterious and mystic stories about big flotillas entangled in the seaweeds and stuck forever in the Sargasso islands once inspired writers, such as Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea) and Aleksandr Belyaev (The Island of Wrecked Ships). But for an artist, also a traveler and seafarer, it is a different story. It is “Different Travel” that logically continues the series of exhibits “Ichthys” (2011), “Palimpsest” (2007), “Oriental” (2003), and others.

The current exposition includes pictures painted in 2012-13. One of the series of Shkarupa’s works is also titled “Sargasso” (four of them are displayed at the exhibit). There is a total 12 canvases at the exposition. They form a world of their own, which has unexpectedly burst into a space between the Foreign Ministry building and St. Andrew’s Church.

The author was born in Sumy, studied in Moscow, and took part in archeological expeditions. The artist’s genres are painting, graphics, ceramics, and the so-called levkas (application of a primer based on powder-like chalk kneaded with animal glue). Levkas is a very labor-intensive technique typical of Russian icon painting. The works displayed at the exhibit were made by means of this very technique.

On Shkarupa’s canvases, acryl and oil form a relief that captivates one with the sheer beauty of its distinctive colors. What is depicted on his canvases often resembles the surface of Jupiter and other planets which we so far know only from the photos taken at a long distance. The impression is that Shkarupa is a “contactee” or sort of a transponder.

Looking at his canvases, an imaginative person may read and form for himself as many lines and contours as possible. For those who seek a clue, Shkarupa has a number of “indicative” titles that hint at what may well be just an illustration. It is the almost Shakespearean Summer Night’s Rain, Fishes, and fragrant forest-growing Mangroves. But what is really astonishing is the picture Sargasso 5. Its colors make everybody freeze with surprise: red, crimson, scarlet, or one that never occurs on earth (like the chemical composition of meteorites). Equally cosmic looks the triptych Migrations. The artist adores diptychs and triptychs, with a half of the displayed works being of this very kind.

Valerii Shkarupa’s exhibit of painting and levkas, “Sargassum,” will remain open until August 31.