Home Artworks Late Supper

Late Supper

2015

Signed Dated Titled Framed

From the series Repast

Size

138 x 180 cm
54 x 70.87 in

Year

2015

Medium

Paintings

Reference

2cc81b4f

Edition of Large Size: 2 + 1 Artist Proof
Edition of Medium Size: 8 + 2 Artist Proof
Edition of Small Size: 8 + 2 Artist Proof
Signature: back
Print: Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta
Dibond mount
ArtGlas
Frame in dark brown

 

Series
Repast 2015 – 2016

 

Repast is an allegory of life cycles. Cyclicity perfectly characterizes humanity and our perception of time.

The Morning (childhood) means acquisition and accumulation. At the beginning of life we receive a certain foundation and potency both from our family and from the society in which we live. We learn to recognize the beauty around us and to feel it — we use all this for the rest of our lives. Even if “breakfast” is sparse in physical reality, it is often filled to the brim with intangible treasures such as love, fantasy, discoveries, strong impressions and first disappointments. In “breakfast” the abundance of dairy products is symbolic. The milk is associated with purity and virginity. The memories of breast milk are still fresh. The fullness you see is an exaggeration. The yellow of orange juice symbolizes concentrated emotions, the taste of life, sincere joy, and the energy of children. A lemon or an orange signifies the unquenchable thirst for action, knowledge, and discovery.

The Day (youth, adulthood) — creation, destruction, giving and taking. The flesh (the fruit) and the colour red are symbols of life and sacrifice. Youth is a period of expending — some build, others destroy. “Time to throw stones and gather stones” — there is a balance in this. We all make sacrifices and give everything at this point in our lives. More or less.

The Evening (age, completion) — contemplation, silence. A meditative part. Scarcity of dinner does not mean scarcity of life, or poverty. The table is set for one person. We come alone to the end of our lives, and yet we merge face to face with the divine in this world. It is a time of transition where all matter fades and loses all meaning. I believe our spirit reaches its peak here and we either accept or reject this transition completely. The set of elements depicted is simple: the fish is the symbol of Christ, the potato (the second bread) — the body losing the spirit (steam), the black tea — the drink of the gods and sages, not for simple thirst quenching, but for contemplation. The position of the hands in the triptych refers to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”, in which the master emphasized the hands. Here they recede into the background and invite the viewer into this or that phase of life — past or future.

1974 Samara, Russian Federation

SHORT BIO

 

Early on Katerina Belkina (*1974) knew about her exceptional talent to see the world through different eyes. Born in Samara in the southeast of European Russia, she was brought up in an creative atmosphere by her mother, a visual artist. Her education at the Art Academy and the School for Photography of Michael Musorin in Samara gave her the tools to visualize her ideas. Exhibitions of her sublime, mystic self-portraits ensued in Moscow and Paris. Katerina Belkina was nominated for the prestigious Kandinsky Prize (comparable to the British Turner Prize) in Moscow in 2007. She won the International Lucas Cranach Award 2015 and the prestigious Hasselblad Masters Prize in 2016. Currently she lives and works in Werder (Havel).

 

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

 

It has always been fascinating for her to explore the psychology of people’s relationships with each other and with the outside world, to give shape to human emotions. To take joy, despondency, indifference, rapture and jealousy to pieces. Feelings are abstract, therefore it is so interesting to look for and find the form of their visualization.

 

Her face and body are the main instruments she uses to incarnate the images she wants. Standing in front of the camera as a model, she follows the age-old theatrical practice of playing roles. It gives impetus to the development of her own manner of narration. A part of her work, shooting is akin to a theatrical performance, where an urge to tell the viewer about emotions and feelings manifests itself through the characters in dialogues with the audience.

 

A passion for classical art and interest in everything new – technology, discoveries, experiments – led her to the type of mixed media, with which she works. From painting, she takes colors and create air as an element of space. Reality and character she takes from photography. Her style originates from a long artistic tradition – collage. That is how her characters and spaces come together. At the next stage, she chooses a brush of a graphics program. This is a subtle and accurate tool to create a light, weightless atmosphere similar to that of a dream. In her creative work, she is not searching for the subjects of thought. They spring from everyday life and observations of the people around. Choosing a motif for her exploration, she offers the audience a female view on things, which concern her. Undoubtedly, this view is based on feminist principles. Yet, the matter is not in confrontation, but in balance and harmony, where a woman is not an object, but foremost – energy.


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