Ulafonberber:
"Balance" Automatic translate

From November 18 to December 26, the Vellum Gallery presents an exhibition project by the sculptor Ulafonberber - Balance.

Viewers will see a series of works dedicated to Eastern traditions and philosophy, created by the author on the basis of personal contact with this ancient culture. Some of the works were created according to the author’s drawings from nature, made, among other things, during a visit by the sculptor to the Menri Monastery in India (“Mystery Cham”, “Morning Tea”, “Contemplator”), as well as Tuva (“Tuva Morning 1, 2”, "Anima"). The works "Dream of a Samurai", "Warrior", "Samurai" are created based on classical Japanese graphics.

All compositions are especially expressive and emotional due to the deeply personal experience of the sculptor’s immersion in the life of his characters and his tenacious attention to the smallest details, which creates in the viewer a sense of belonging to this special world of Eastern practices and worldviews.

The title work of the project with the same name "Balance" combines the meaning of all the works created in the period from 2019 to 2022. Just as playing children try to keep their balance when they walk on a tightrope lying on the ground, so a person strives to find his inner balance. In this series, the author considers balance in two aspects: as the harmony of parts (yin-yang) and as freedom from extremes. The heroes of the series, each in their own way, balance, balancing the space both inside and outside.

Ulafonberber: “Fantasy about a wonderful spiritual future is, to some extent, a departure from reality. While the tradition of Tibet and the practice of mindfulness are aimed at going beyond illusions and accepting the world as it is. The East has its own bright and fairly canonical tradition in art. I did not have the task of learning this tradition, since my work develops in the context of Western European art and the academic school. One of my tasks is to combine in my works the foundations of Eastern views and the Western European approach to the creation of form.

About the author: In his work, the sculptor departs from the currently popular trend of simplifying forms, remaining true to the traditions of the academic school. The deep meaning of each work is embodied in the harmonious proportions of a realistic image. The author’s own vision in art was formed largely due to Greek family roots. And travels to Greece and Egypt inspired a deeper study of antiquity. An organic continuation of the interest that arose was the receipt of academic art education at the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov under the guidance of academicians M. Pereyaslavets and N. Kolupaev. The identity of the author himself is hidden from the viewer by a creative pseudonym, which is the quintessence of the sculptor’s worldview.

Project curator, Victoria Stupina: “The peculiarity of the sculptor’s work is that she embodies in the form not only her own aesthetics, but, above all, a spiritual practice and worldview deeply close to her. The main thing that art should strive for is to touch someone’s soul. The works of Ulafonberber are a tuning fork of harmony. You look and it seems to become quieter inside.

The founder of the Vellum Gallery, art historian Lyubov Agafonova: “The sculptor’s work shows the undoubted influence of the symbolist ideas of the Silver Age on the development of certain aesthetic trends in contemporary art.”

The range of philosophical interpretation of Eastern teachings is becoming wider thanks to the paintings and graphic works of Nicholas Roerich, Maximilian Voloshin and Boris Smirnov-Rusetsky included in the exhibition from the collection of the Vellum Gallery.