Victoria Marchenkova

Early life

She was born in Moscow, Russia.

Victoria began her artistic studies in The Rodchenko Art School (class of Video Art, professor Kirill Preobrazhenskiy, 2009-2012) and then in RSUH (2013, PhD dissertation 'Languages of Russian and Chinese narrative video art'). She developed her own plastics and artistic strategy.

Career

Victoria Marchenkova is a mixed media artist. She was born in Moscow in 1987. Victoria is a prominent representative of ‘Young&Clever’ Wave. She made a shift from contextual to avant-garde positions at Russian art scene. Her artworks represent a mixture of different lifestyles defined by the present economic situation of the world, international traditions and heritage. Victoria is a bright representative of artists born in the late 80s and was influenced by Pictorial turn (‘Ikonische Wende’). Victoria found her artistic way in sophisticated works with light, tactility, metal and gold imitations. According to the words of art historian Vera Trakhtenberg, the exhibition of Victoria Marchenkova “Every felling sent by God” (2015, Osnova gallery) shows the course on a transfer of Byzantine art technologies into contemporary art field. Besides, artworks of Victoria reflect the drawing technique of famous Russian painter of icons and frescos, Andrew Rublev. In such works as – “Be Calm and VIP”, “My parents think I am always getting higher” and “…But I am just fairy of normalization” - we can find medieval technologies developed by the artist for aesthetically new results. Numerous installations and objects of Marchenkova represent transmission of forms between sacral and so-called “dirty” spaces. The most iconic work among artworks of Victoria is a dog chain collar called “Rose Gold Look So Nice On You” and created in neo-conceptual style. This object can be associated with a thing made for absolutely different purposes like – a toy for sadomasochistic sex, luxury jewelry or sacred crown of thorns. Transgression in optics towards good and evil, search for borders between holiness and sin, those two themes represent the main course of Victoria Marchenkova recent works.

Recognition

Victoria was a nominee of The Kandinskiy Prize 2012 (Young Artist) and 2014 (Scholarly work and History and theory of contemporary art). In 2014, The Art Newspaper Russia included her in a selection of top 100 emerging Russian artists.

She lives and works in Moscow.

List of selected solo exhibitions

2015

Every Feeling Sent By God. Osnova Gallery, Moscow

Be Calm and VIP. We Art Gallery, Nikolina gora

2014

Overcoming Love. Offspace of Yakov (Shifra) Kazhdan, Moscow

List of selected group exhibitions

2017

TAKE OFF Exhibition-Forecast (group show). VDNKH, Gidrometeorology pavillion, Moscow

2015

Open Systems. Self-Organized Art Initiatives in Russia: 2000–2015. Garage Museum Of Contemporary Art, Moscow

2014

Cats In Manege. The New Manege, Moscow.

1:0. Manifesta X parallel program. Praktika Theatre, Moscow.

2013

Labour in a Single Shot. Part of the project by Antje Ehmann and Harun Farocki. Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz; Goethe-Institut Montréal; Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore; Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, México City

The 9th Kaunas Biennale 'Unitext'. M. Žilinskas Art Gallery of National Art Museum of M. K. Čiurlionis, Kaunas

Kod Epohi / Zeitgeist. The All-Russian Museum of Applied and Folk Art Why Do We Go To See Exhibitions. Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow

What Is Behind That Curtain. Random Gallery, Moscow

2012

The Kandinsky Prize nominee exhibition. Udarnik, Moscow

Without exceptions. MAMM, Moscow

2011

Insight/foresight', project with Skolkovo Innovation Center. Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow

Cosmos – 2. Krasnoyarsk Museum Center, Krasnoyarsk

Performing Archive. Gallery E.K.Artburo, Moscow

Screening program of Auditorium Moscow exhibition. A Sketch for a Public Space' exhibition. Bielie Palaty, Moscow

2010

(M)other Russia. Foundry-club, London

Sense and sensibility. ARTPLAY, Moscow