SCULPTURE
EXHIBITION
AGA OUSSEINOV
November
16-December 3, 2004
Gallery MC is pleased to announce the New York debut exhibition of sculptor
Aga Ousseinov. Fanciful and surreal yet conceptually rigorous, the central installation
posits a mold-making, sculpture-making, sculpture-destroying, and sculpture-restoring
machine. Elements include a dust collector, melting effects, metal armatures,
an on/off button, engines, and artworks in various stages of completion. Among
the issues this ambitious installation engages are the relationship between
science and art; the centuries-old debate over whether sculptors are artists
or artisans; the growing importance of machine-generated fabrication in contemporary
art; and the mysterious, sometimes poetic dialogue between the negative image
and the positive image. Related sculptures and works on paper will also be displayed.
The sense of lightness—and often humor—animating this project is
evident in pieces such as a relief based on a 17th-century flying machine and
objects including a windmill, a stylized boat, and a submarine. Ousseinov’s
stylistic influences include the hieratic sculptures of Marino Marini,
the frescoes of Piero della Francesca (including the visible traces
of restoration in the Arezzo Chapel frescoes), paintings by Cy
Twombly, and Etruscan and Cycladic household and ritual objects. Among
the works integral to the installation are a head inspired by a third-century
Roman portrait and “fossils” imprinted with images of modern machinery.
Mortality is an important ingredient: a piece that the machine has just created
alludes to the violent death of the filmmaker, poet, essayist, polemicist, and
novelist Pier Paolo Pasolini. The materials Ousseinov uses to create these and
other works are as varied and open-ended as his references: they range from
wood or metal toys to the most professional artists’ materials.
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1962, Ousseinov studied in Moscow at the prestigious
V.I. Surikov State Art Institute. During compulsory military service
at the time of the Soviet war with Afghanistan, he sculpted likenesses of Lenin
and Soviet generals and other propaganda pieces—a surreal experience that
has played a role in shaping his approach to artmaking.
After completing his service he exhibited widely in Europe before relocating
to New York. In the United States he has earned a living by creating theatrical
sets, sculptural enlargements, and sculptural molds; restoring archaeological
and architectural pieces; and creating objects for contemporary designers. These
projects helped to inspire his latest work.
Catalogue
available
PHOTO:
Aga Ousseinov, Auto, "Fossil Series", 1999
THIS
MONTH IN THE GALLERY MC:
SCULPTURE
EXHIBITION by Aga OUSSEINOV
November 16-December 3, 2004
Aga
Ousseinov is a sculptor born in Baku, Azerbaijan (USSR), in
1962. He graduated from V.I. Surikov State Art Institute in Moscow.
Since 1982 he has exhibited his works in Russia, Europe and USA. Mr. Ousseinov
lives and works in New York since 1992.
