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TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

What elements connect traditional embroidery of the 19th century and the walls of typical Soviet apartment houses

Process

How an Italian artist mixed up teapots and what came of it

Author

Agostino Iacurci (Berlin)

Address

123 Bigash Street

Five Teapots

Биш чәйнек, яки Исәнмесез

TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

The wall at the entrance to the city became an occasion for artistic reflection on hospitality and family life, both important elements in Tatar culture.

In what, if not in tea drinking, is hospitality embodied, linking the traditions of the present and the past? Another connection between eras, those of traditional culture and Soviet architecture, can be found in how everyday Tatar life of different centuries looked. As such, typical concrete ornamentation on the walls of Almetyevsk houses of the 1970s is in sync with embroidery of the 19th century from the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Ornament on embroidery. Collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of Tatarstan Republic.

In what, if not in tea drinking, is hospitality embodied, linking the traditions of the present and the past? Another connection between eras, those of traditional culture and Soviet architecture, can be found in how everyday Tatar life of different centuries looked. As such, typical concrete ornamentation on the walls of Almetyevsk houses of the 1970s is in sync with embroidery of the 19th century from the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Ornament on embroidery. Collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of Tatarstan Republic.

Process

Art form: mural
Material: acrylic spray paint

Ital. Mural — wall

Monumental wall painting created on a faсade or a blank wall of a building or any other urban architectural objects.

«The wall of the apartment house Agostino worked on is covered with typical concrete ornamentation: in Almetyevsk there are many such houses from the 70s. In order to emphasize this relief, the purity and simplicity of color and lines are important. Agostino, with his borderline style between abstraction and the figurative, is among those artists who can tell a great story in several lines. The story is based on the greeting «isnmeses» (literally, «How is your health?»), and with this phrase that people exchange daily, the work began, becoming a dedication to the traditional Tatar hospitality expressed in tea drinking. And the artist's seemingly endless pyramid of teapots is just about warmth, comfort and conversations in the kitchen, concepts equally important for Tatar and Russian culture. As for visual motifs, thanks to Rosalia Nurgalieva, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, we had samples of 19th-century embroideries – hence the motifs of tulips. There were curious moments in the process of work: for example, Agostino first drew a kumgan (pitcher) — he did not know that this teapot was used for washing, and only later did those teapots appear that greet every person entering the city.»

Polina Yozh

Project lead, curator, founder of the Institute for Research on Street Art

Author

«The teapots fit perfectly into the concept of hospitality and the landscape and the decoration is very Tatar: flowers are everywhere, rich ornamentation. As a result, the painting turns out to be very decorative.»

Agostino Iacurci (Berlin)

Artist

agostinoiacurci.com

Agostino Iacurci feels equally confident on the streets of various cities in the world and in the gallery space. Distinctive features of his style are bright colors, simplified forms, conciseness combined with expressiveness. Since 2007, he has actively participated in group exhibitions in Europe, Asia and America, and since 2012 he has held seven personal exhibitions in various European countries and Australia. In 2013, Agostino painted a 21-story building in Taipei, and created a monumental painting in Moscow on Goncharnaya Embankment as part of the LGZ Festival (The Best City on Earth). In 2014-2015, his gallery works could also be seen in Moscow as part of the first Biennale of Street Art «Artmossphere» and #project64 at the VDNH Exhibition.

Working on the mural, 2017.

«Immobile», Ragusa (Sicily, Italy), 2016.

Agostino Iacurci feels equally confident on the streets of various cities in the world and in the gallery space. Distinctive features of his style are bright colors, simplified forms, conciseness combined with expressiveness. Since 2007, he has actively participated in group exhibitions in Europe, Asia and America, and since 2012 he has held seven personal exhibitions in various European countries and Australia. In 2013, Agostino painted a 21-story building in Taipei, and created a monumental painting in Moscow on Goncharnaya Embankment as part of the LGZ Festival (The Best City on Earth). In 2014-2015, his gallery works could also be seen in Moscow as part of the first Biennale of Street Art «Artmossphere» and #project64 at the VDNH Exhibition.

Working on the mural, 2017.

«Immobile», Ragusa (Sicily, Italy), 2016.

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