Amanita (née Alexander Erashov; b. 1972 in Ermak) is a Russian artist who specializes in works on paper and graphic drawing. His works have appeared in museums and galleries around the world.
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Early life and work
Alexander Erashov was born in Ermak, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1972. The name “Amanita” is the translation of the Russian word "mukhomor", Amanita's first pseudonym. He attended the faculty of graphic design at the Pavlodarsky Arts College from 2000–2004, specialising in book and editorial illustration, caricatures, original font creation, heraldry and poster design. Amanita held his first exhibition at the Aina Gallery in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, in 2005. The following year, he held the “Graphics” exhibition at the Regional Arts Museum of Pavlodar, as well as the “Mukhomor” exhibition at the Ular Gallery in Alma-Ata and a series of illustrations of popular Kazakh fairy tales. He exhibited at the Ular Gallery again in 2007, where he held the “Mayevka” exhibition; in 2008, with the “Pineapples and Pigs” exhibition, and “The ABC of the USSR”.
International recognition
In 2009, Amanita took part in the “Galleries parade” project in Alma-Ata. He also exhibited his works at the international art fair Art Vilnius 09, in Vilnius, Lithuania. He published his original book of drawings, “The ABC of the USSR”, and an illustrated “Soviet Calendar”, which was chosen by the magazine “Argumentiy i Fakty” as Calendar of the Year in Kazakhstan. Amanita also features in the “Kazakhstan Contemporary Art” catalogue. In 2010, Amanita exhibited his “Sports Calendar” collection at the Ular Gallery and contributed to the international LIBIDO project at the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. He also took part in the Anticorruption Posters competition in Astana, Kazakhstan. In 2011, Amanita appeared again at the Ular Gallery with his “Window” collection, which he later presented at the Art Vilnius 11 art fair and the State Museum of the History of Theatre of Lithuania. He also designed a series of posters centred on social issues and safety. In 2012, Amanita took part in the “From Utopia to Dystopia” international project at the Art Hall gallery in Kiev, Ukraine, and in the “Art of the Nation” project at the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. He designed the catalogue for the Kiev project with Ivan Khivrenko, Dasha Namdakova and Aleksandr Savko. In 2013, Amanita took part in the Art Budapest international art fair. Since then, has been exhibiting in London: at the Phillips Auction House’s pre-auction exhibition (2014), the Bird & Carrot Gallery, with his “Encyclopaedia” exhibition (2015) and at the international Works on Paper art fair at the Royal Geographical Institute (2016). At the Works on Paper fair, the prices for Amanita's drawings ranged from £4,800 to £6,000.
Amanita’s works have appeared in the following locations:
Style and technique
For many years, Aleksandr Erashov worked as an engineer in an electric power station in Kazakhstan, only drawing in the evenings. He told FinBuzz Magazine that this habit was his way of escaping reality: “I didn’t grow up in an artistic milieu, without any museums, without the internet; I was always on my own.” Amanita uses rapidograph pens, pencil, pens and ink, reflecting the limited choices of mediums and tools of Soviet amateur artists, who didn’t have access to oil paint, reserved for members of the official Union of Soviet artists. Amanita experimented with aquarelles, but they became impossible to obtain following the crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union. His colours of choosing are black, red and gold.
Themes
Amanita’s graphic sheets are inspired by scholastic treatises about universe order. The results are often works that are almost encyclopedic in their nature, featuring elements of European and Asian culture and the Soviet and post-Soviet spaces. Images, links, and hints are concentrated into one work with the aim of provoking different associations for the viewer. Amanita's works are often arranged in series of large graphic sheets. For these reasons, Amanita’s work can be compared to that of medieval manuscripts illustrators - rife with details and hidden meanings. Amanita usually works for several months on every graphic piece. The themes most explored in his work are those of civilisation and barbarism, grace and crudity, fantastic and real, as well as religion, language, and the Soviet and post-Soviet worlds and cultures.