Exhibitions

Sergey Serezhin: "This is the book of my being"

An exhibition entitled "Game" by the outstanding sculptor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Sergey Serezhin opened in the JINR Cultural Centre "Mir".

Sergey Serezhin is the successor of the dynasty of sculptors, a graduate of the Moscow State Art Institute named after V.I.Surikov. His creative path is a fusion of academic traditions reinterpreted through the prism of modern artistic language. Sergey is the author of many monuments, including "Archangel Michael", a monument to Admiral F.F.Ushakov in the city of Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Territory, "Radio Operator's Table" in New Moscow, a monument to Sergius of Radonezh in Kashira and many others. As part of the exhibition "Game", he introduced himself as a subtle and ironic artist, inviting the public to complicity in the creative process.

The central work of the exhibition was the sculpture "Dowry", a conceptual narrative of the exposition lined up around it. This work, like others presented in the project, reveals the lesser-known, chamber side of the sculptor's work, demonstrating his deep interest in metaphor, symbol and the complex play of meanings hidden in bronze. We talked to the author of the exhibition about the intricacies of creating a sculpture.

Sergey, sculpture can be understood in different ways. If we talk about the classical understanding of sculpture, then it is a certain unit, dressed in stone, metal, wood. Today, in the field of modern art, sculpture refers to any object. What field do you work in?

E.Yamaleeva, S.Serezhin, A.Tamonov

- I will say that in our modern paradigm there is no certain rule of the game, what material the sculpture should be in. It can be both plastic and acrylic, today, there are many technologies that simplify the work of the sculptor. But I am still a supporter of classic materials. I have sculptures in plaster, aluminum and bronze at the exhibition, that is, I prefer classic, traditional materials. The girl, for example, on the chest could be made of plastic, but the plaster for me was a warmer material to make, since it can be painted and it comes to life. Good material is wood but my main material is bronze, that is, I work in the monumental genre of sculpture, in traditional plastic. As for the concept of sculpture, or art in general, it is what can impress a person and I believe that this impression should not be destructive, but creative. That is, when a person looks at works of art, he should be inspired, admired and his life should become better. I am a supporter of things that give us the opportunity to develop and feel that not everything is so bad in the world around us. I carry optimism, goodness and positivity with my sculptures.

What topic in sculpture and what artistic language are close to you?

- The artistic language is classic for me but I am not at all against contemporary art. Again, how to understand the phrase "contemporary art". All artists that live today, in our times, are contemporary artists. But in the context in which you ask me a question, this is installation, performance and I prefer the classic genre, figurative. The main engine of my creativity and my inner idea, of principles is the harmony of meaning and formal decision. If the formal decision corresponds to the meaning and the topic that the artist has decided to convey to the audience, then, I believe, that piece of work is a success. It happens that a person pays excessive attention to meaning but formally the sculpture is not solved. Or a fairly formal decision, but a complete lack of meaning. I am a supporter of harmony in this regard.

"Fright"

The construction of a monument is a complex technological, "multi-stage" process. Tell us about it, please.

- The process is quite complicated, it concerns not only monumental sculpture and monument. I believe that this is one of the most complex human activities, both from a physical point of view and from a moral and from a material and from a financial point of view, too. And it is quite long. If you take a monument, then often first, it is work with customers. It's important to understand what ideas they have. We meet at the installation site of the monument, discuss its size, approximate topic, afterwards, the work begins on the sketch, a model of the monument is made, that is, this is a reduced sculpture that is subsequently transferred to a large size and later, a large sculpture is made. This is a long process, afterwards, the technical stage begins, this is also a long-playing story because after you have blinded the monument, the molders that mold your sculpture have to come, after that the mold moves to the foundry, where it is cast from parts, assembled, welded, processed, patented. And only after that, it goes to the installation site, where the foundation and pedestal have already been prepared. If you compare with painting, then it is ten times more difficult. Painting is painted on the wall and it is ready, or painted a picture in the workshop, framed it and the work is ready. In sculpture, the process is much more complicated.

And yet, how long does it take to construct a sculpture?

-It depends. It happens that a monument is quickly made, in six months. As for my creative works, for example, I did "Ark" for ten years. It does not mean that I did it every day, it just took ten years. I did the sculpture "Dowry" for two years, not constantly, but all this time, I have thought about it, led it to some kind of conclusion.

Does the mood which you start the work with matter? Or I will ask differently - are there any features of the inner state in which it is best to proceed to creation?

"Elephant with bows"

- Every creative work is determined by your condition and your mood. For example, in my composition "Match", the topic is quite tragic: a life that is coming to an end. The composition "Girl" is a different mood, "Persecution" is the third... That is, it all depends on your thoughts what you want to broadcast with this work and in accordance with your mood, the result is obtained.

What can prevent a sculptor from creating a work?

- You know, it's like in life, everything can interfere. Sometimes, you do creative work and suddenly, there is some kind of order, you have to interrupt. This is just about work. And so, of course, some kind of change of outlook on life can interfere, financial problems can also affect because as I have said, sculpture is a costly business.

Sergey, talent is characterized by doubts, long thoughts... Do you have your own principles during your work, masterpieces that are indisputable examples on which you internally rely as a certain level?

- Doubts, long thoughts, all this matters but sculpture is such a profession, there is no time to think for a long time, you have to do it here. This is a thing that is not subject to philosophy. That is, you can philosophize as much as you like but if there is no sculpture, then, in fact, there is no sculptor. And as for the principles, masterpieces, of course, I focus on some of my contemporaries and classics, I really love the Renaissance, Ancient Greece, for me, these are unshakable pillars that carry, as you say, fundamental principles in sculpture, I very often focus on them.

Contemporary art is sometimes non-figurative and sometimes, puzzling for an uninitiated person. What is your attitude to contemporary art?

- The basic principles I have already said are harmony of internal content and formal decision. If a person finds such a union in his work, then this is a work of art. If something misses, then this thing is questioned for me.

Do you think it is important that the creations of sculptors are in dialogue with time and with the world? And how high is the need for art today?

- As for the need for art today, you know, we cannot live without art. If we talk about art from the point of view of applied art, then without art there are no beautiful facades of buildings, there is no beautiful landscape, there is no beautiful decorated park, these are all elements of art and sculpture. If there is some kind of artifact in a beautifully decorated park, then this park is perceived in a completely different way. By the way, we basically have a lot of monuments to historical figures and it would be nice to have some sculptures on other topics. If beautiful things adorned our parks, then life would be much better, more interesting and richer.

In your opinion, is a direct statement or a metaphorical one better in sculpture? Or the main thing is that it is done skillfully...

- I am for meaningful art and it should bring bright hope. And whatever it is, metaphorical statement or direct, it does not matter to me. The main thing is that the message should be clear. That is, you stop at the sculpture and what the sculptor wants to say makes you think. This is the basic principle of art, sculpture, painting.

Sergey, what sculptures have you selected for demonstration at the exhibition "Game"?

- I wanted to make the central hall like a game hall, it turned out that way, there all the works meet this topic. The right hall behind the column is Africa and in the left hall, I wanted to put sketches of my monuments and photographs on the columns but in the process of preparing for the exhibition everything changed a little, the monuments moved to glass pedestals. Ark is on the right, Adam and Eve - on the left. All works are very valuable for me, a part of my life is united with each because this is a rather long period of gestation and each work has its own story. The principle of selection of works in general was very simple; I brought everything that I love, as it were the book of my being. The exhibition will be open at the Cultural Centre "Mir" until 8 February. I invite everyone to visit it!

Interviewed by Member of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation
Eleonora YAMALEEVA