I try to soak up all the art I can. Here is some from two of the venues I visited this summer.

The first Southern Russia Biennale took place in June in Rostov-on-Don. Finally, the feted format made its way down south. The main Biennale space was well-curated in the former tobacco factory.

Surgery by Alena Gulchenko (Алёна Гульченко, Хирургия). A series of striking photos explores human mortality and current cultural demands on appearance by way of performing cosmetic procedures on vegetables and fruits. More examples can be found here. 

Irina and Vadim Grabkov (Ирина и Вадим Грабковы) are a Moscow brother-sister art duo. Their infamous grayscale pixilated paintings of paparazzi shots and porn screen captures summarize the age of overinformation and instant fame. For this biennale they created a large scale version of Jesus. More examples can be found here and on their Live Journal page.

The following come from the “Where Do We Go From Here” exhibition of works by 30+ young Eastern European artists at the famed Secession Museum in Vienna.

How do we measure and value our time and life? This series of simple calendars in various currencies by Miklos Mecs (Hungary) suggest devaluation as cultural trajectory. This one is made of 500 Russian rouble banknotes. More from the artist, here.

A brilliant series of drawings by Vesna Bukovec (Slovenia) whimsically explores the over-popularized DYI, self-help approach to happiness and wellbeing. Check out the full series and more of Vesna’s work here.

Tomorrow I will share my two favorites, one from each exhibition.