The project Doppelgänger revives the showing of works by contemporary artists that have been created especially for Garage Atrium. However, now these works not only interact with the architecture of the Museum but also with its developing collection. In this way the Atrium becomes another space for open storage and allows visitors to see artists before they are included in the Museum’s collection or to view works that have already been acquired.
Doppelgänger consists of two series, one of which was created for Garage, and the other, the «antler» series, came to the Museum straight from the artist’s studio. The starting point for the development of the project’s composition is the height difference in the Atrium and the contrasting colors and graphic elements in the Museum space. The same principle is used in the color and volume solution of the sculptural group. Within this frame Gorshkov responds to two creative challenges: to study the artistic possibilities of a categorical readymade (an inflatable street figure) and «that which can be made from antlers without descending into a craft aesthetic.» Ivan typically «tames» his five- and seven-meter-tall giants using smaller objects—numerous masks and wigs purchased on popular sites—and also graffiti.
Gorshkov considers antlers with the close attention of a sculptor. Preserving the integrity of their natural form he reveals within them a tribal aesthetic: tattoos, which have been an element of youth culture for some time. He enthusiastically distributes bone tribal figures between anthropomorphic and latticed characters, creating personalities of various colors. «The series works as a team and, according to the rules of dramaturgy, there should be a handsome character, a fat one, and a smart guy… ” says the artist, without identifying who is who or which theme is played out by each.
Gorshkov’s characters (like Franz West’s welded metal worm sculptures, Urs Fischer, whose sculptural projects have been shown more than once in Moscow, and even Paul McCarthy) relate to the precultural layer of consciousness, entering the territory of children’s art and activating spontaneity of perception in order to remind us of the artist’s right not only to reconsider cultural codes but also to create their own.
IVAN GORSHKOV
DOPPELGÄNGER, 2024
FABRIC, DIGITAL PRINT, ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, FOUND OBJECTS, METAL, WELDING, ENAMEL, ANTLERS
