Olya Kroytor

The works were first presented at Olya Kroytor’s 8 Situations exhibition in the Artwin Gallery in 2015. In these works Kroytor breaks from traditional painting techniques, incorporating geometric abstraction, collage and comic strips, as well as three-dimensional objects, counter-reliefs that read almost hieroglyphically. The combined visual impact, geometric precision, colour harmony and compositional rhythm are aesthetic markers underlining the gravity and depth of the artist’s statements. Having originally trained in graphics, Kroytor’s creative method continues to be heavily influenced by the principles of drawing. However, behind this seemingly uncompromising method, one senses the intuitive desire of the artist to transform chaos with art, to “restore order” in the universe.

In regard to the first three works (Situation #15, Situation #17 and Situation #7) Olya Kroytor states: “Comic books were my key source of knowledge about the outside world as a child (along with Disney cartoons). In comparison with post-Soviet children’s publications it was, naturally, a more colorful and lively world, although some of the scenarios were almost adult. Comic books have become a starting point in my frame of reference.”

The other work Fed Up is part of a series made from children’s wooden blocks. Each piece explores the relationship between chaotic street sounds and noises — in which one can intermittently hear one’s own voice. Most of the letters are meaningless with only the ones protruding the farthest that form words.