Masha Trebukova | Cathedral

De tentoonstelling is wegens grote belangstelling verlengd tot zaterdag 17 september 2016.

Cathedral | verhalen, musici, koningen en profeten

Een installatie van Masha Trebukova

Het begint op een desolate plek in Noordoost Groningen, mei 2013. Tegen de achtergrond van de oprukkende chemische industrie staat nog een verlaten 13e eeuws kerkje. Het is het enig overgebleven gebouw van het niet meer bestaande dorpje Heveskes. Het is dáár waar Masha Trebukova een installatie toont van een project dat haar als kunstenaar al vele jaren boeit. Voor 'Creation', waarvan de bronnen liggen in de Romaanse beeldhouwkunst en architectuur en de vroegmiddeleeuwse Italiaanse fresco's, is dit sobere middeleeuwse kerkje de natuurlijke omgeving. Oudtestamentische verhalen, verbeeld in abstracte muurschilderingen en raamrozetten.

Masha's project 'Creation' wordt vervolgd, een jaar later, in de expositieruimte van Nieuw Dakota in Amsterdam Noord. Veel-luiken, samengesteld uit tientallen monoprints refereren ook hier aan een Russisch-Orthodoxe Iconostase, aan middeleeuwse Italiaanse fresco's, de bronzen deuren van de San Zeno en het glas-in-lood uit een Franse kathedraal.

De meest in het oog springende ontwikkeling in Masha's zoektocht is wellicht de nieuwe figuratieve beeldtaal, waarvan ze zich in deze 'Cathedral Installation' bedient.

Masha verwoordt het zelf:

In the last couple of years I have become fascinated by mediaeval Romanesque sculptures. Travelling along old European pilgrim routes I experienced the directness of the folkloristic and innocent way of representational art of the early Christian sculptors. This admiration prompted me to start a new series of figurative monoprints on textile stretched on canvas. They all are inspired by stone sculptures in churches and monasteries.

In my prints I closely follow existing sculptures found in the churches to study the variety of imagery and coexistence of Christian and folkloristic characters.There are a few groups in these series: Prophets, Musicians, Kings and other stories.

There is a huge wall filled with prophets on the outside of Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. You see prophets virtually everywhere in many churches. Heavenly Music is juxtaposed with Earthly Music, Kings are playing all kinds of instruments and fantastic mythological beasts look down on us, full of great wisdom, humour and understanding.

Some of the themes engage me more than others, some I repeat again and again. With their characteristic anomalies and typical deformations these Romanesque images show very powerful interpretations of the Biblical stories. They sometimes look primitive and too simplistic but it only makes these sculptures more emotionally charged and attractive.

I also like the fact that most of the art works in that period are anonymous; as far as I know there are very few artists who sign their names, one exception being Gislebertus in Autun Cathedral. I like the anonymity of that period, where the story to be told and the skill to make the sculpture are more important than the authorship of the work.

I am usually inspired by colours, but in the dark and mysterious churches, where sometimes only a few frescos remain visible after centuries of wars and humidity, a major role is played by sculptural decoration of capitals, timpani and other parts of the walls. Though colourless, they are often very vivid and animated storytelling compositions.

Initially I tried to interpret these images in more abstract forms but eventually they become direct and figurative images. I printed these drawings on textile using the carborundum technique. The final print is stretched on canvas and presented as a painting. This method unites the three-dimensional with printing and painting, the combination of the visual arts I have always been looking for in my work.

It will be a great triumph to hang these works together to form a ' Cathedral ' of associations, characters, rhythms and lines.