Curator: Marija Orlova @digitallmarija

Txt: Marija Orlova @digitallmarija

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not so keen,

Because thou art not seen,

Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:

Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly."

— William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

In this duo project, the artists create a dialogue-based space where the themes of spontaneity, ritual, folklore and symbolic representation intertwine. It is an exploration of the corporeal, the vulnerable and the multilayered — a space in which modernity is experienced as a state of intertemporality, a gap between the past and the future.

Ekaterina Serikova stages a scene of a collective feast featuring deliberately enlarged anthropomorphic figures that are simultaneously grotesque and touchingly vulnerable. This feast emerges as a generalised image of the fixation on the physiological in everyday routines — one of the effects of 'intertemporality', where the satisfaction of basic bodily needs takes priority against the backdrop of fatigue and the chaos of events.

Pavel Varnavskiy delves into the relationship between figuration and abstraction, evident in his use of jagged, muddy lines; sharp colour accents; and deliberately simplified pictorial motifs. His works appear to challenge the stability of images and control, enabling the occasion to modify the trajectory of perception.

The artistic languages of the two authors converge in the realm of traditional medieval aesthetics, conceived not as historical references, but as metaphors of intertemporality through which symbolism and instinct are conveyed. Serikova develops her personal project on the theme of clothing and theatricality, reflecting on the primacy of humanity over objects — or vice versa — and the power of objects over humanity. Varnavskiy introduces an element of spontaneous intervention into this field, creating a pictorial outcome that cannot be accurately predicted.

Artworks:

1. Pavel Varnavskiy, The Well, 2025, 165 x 140 cm, airbrush, canvas, acrylic
2. Pavel Varnavskiy, In a Barrel, 2025, 120 x 165 cm, airbrush, canvas, acrylic
3. Ekaterina Serikova, Pagliacci, 2023-2024, 29x20x15 cm, sculptural plasticine, camel yarn, metal rings
4. Pavel Varnavskiy, Arrows, 2025, 210 x 163 cm, airbrush, canvas, acrylic
5. Ekaterina Serikova, Pilgrim Series, 2025, 21 x 30 cm, paper, gouache, pencil, frame, glass
6. Ekaterina Serikova, Pilgrim Series, 2025, 21 x 30 cm, paper, gouache
7. Ekaterina Serikova, Series “Pilgrim”, 2025, 27.5 x 21.5 cm, millimeter paper, gouache, pencil
8. Pavel Varnavskiy, Unicorn, 2025, 100 x 100 cm, airbrush, canvas, acrylic
9. Ekaterina Serikova, Edoki, 2025, 250x185x160 cm, assembly foam, binding wire, pine wood, pewter, wooden chairs and table