Maria Pavlova

Cyclus summer, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
115x100cm









Cyclus winter, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
120x100cm









Cyclus winter detail1, 2024
Acrylic on canvas









Idol, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
80x60cm









20th Century, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
80x60cm









20th Century detail 1_, 2024
Acrylic on canvas









Tryptichon Genesis gradient, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
150x50cm









Tryptichon part 1, 2023
Acrylic on canvas









Tryptichon part 2, 2023
Acrylic on canvas









Tryptichon part 3, 2023
Acrylic on canvas









Hiob, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
72x70cm









Genesis in Seoul, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
50x40cm









Serie, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
2x 40x30cm, 1x 40x40cm









Maybe Truman Show, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Stillife, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









It's Michalkow Not Lenin, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
40x40cm









Ancetorspirit II, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
50x45cm









Ancetorspirit III, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
50x45cm









Ancestorspirit I, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
50x45cm









Ancestorworship, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
(text)









No title, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Indio desnudo, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Torch, 2020
Acrylic on paper
30x21cm









Eucalypt, 2020
Acrylic on paper
30x21cm









Invadors, 2020
Acrylic on paper
30x21cm









Trunc, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Tree, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
45x40cm









Tierras morenas, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









The trolls of the forest in my head, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
15x12cm









Peninsula, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Path, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
45x40cm









Fool moon, 2019
Acrylic on paper
20x15cm









Farallon, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Couple trees, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Close distance, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Casa del agua, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Arguments, 2019
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Tryptichon, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
150x50cm









Undo in order to survive, 2018
mixed medias
exhibition view









Undo in order to survive I, 2018
mixed medias









Undo in order to survive II, 2018
mixed medias









Nature study III, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
25x15cm









Nature study I, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
25x15cm









Selfpity of matrioshka, 2017
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Matrioshka, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
140x90cm









With less balance, than zou have on water, 2017
exhibition view









Three different Holy waters, 2017
exhibition view









Pulling the beginning, 2017
Acrylic on paper
30x20cm









Cross of beginnings, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
280x175cm









End of the box, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
50x40cm









Principle of non-influence, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Pagan soul, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Interaction with reality through conditions, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









In control of inertia, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Asking for forgiveness, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Ascetism wont help, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40x30cm









Winter hunter, 2014
Acrylic on canvas
160x130cm









Drunken mermaid, 2014
Acrylic on canvas
50x40cm









Heritage, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
40x40cm









Calling death II, 2007
Acrylic on canvas
50x30cm









Calling death I, 2007
Acrylic on canvas
40x40cm









Hypnotize, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
140x90cm









Breathe, 2008
Acrylic on paper
80x50cm









Dogwolf, 2011
Acrylic on canvas
2x 140x100cm









Let's do something real, 2010
Acrylic on canvas
170x160cm









Gagarin fishing in an airbase, 2011
Acrylic on canvas
35x35cm









Big eyes, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
60x40cm









Wildboy, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
140x90cm









Stalker, 2011
Acrylic on canvas
100x70cm









Dislocation/ Snowwhite, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
150x90cm









No Title, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
70x30cm









No Accident, 2010
Oil and acrylic on canvas
100x100cm









Running back home, 2011
Acrylic on canvas
70x55cm









Im your mother III, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
175x110cm









Im your mother II, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
175x110cm









Im your mother I, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
175x110cm









Im not your mother II, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
140x120cm









Im not your mother I, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
100x70cm









Exit, 2015
Acrylic on canvas
170x90cm









Rabe, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
40x40cm









Wings of Darkness, 2014
Acrylic on paper
40x30cm









Grandmother, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
50x40cm









Europapark, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
130x97cm









If you think of something else,
2008
Acrylic on canvas
170x65cm









Happy Birthday, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
100x100cm









Berlinizza, 2007
Acrylic on paper
50x40cm









Observer, 2006
Acrylic on canvas
150x90cm









You drilled too deep, 2013/2015
Acrylic on canvas
150x110cm









Buthoman, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
100x70cm











Text





Ancestor worship

Artist`s statement
By Maria Pavlova


Finding reasons for problems and resources for solutions, this is what ancestor worship is about.
Its about culture, history and progress. New technologies are useless without culture. Art creates culture. Ritual objects from ancient times, created to be used to worship gods or ancestors became art objects. They were the source of inspiration for artists. In the “yolo culture” - a term used in pop music and culture, which has received criticism for glamorizing reckless behavior, worshiping the ancestors is seen as uncool - in the opposite to the older cultures from the east. Though thanks to our predecessors we are alive. Reconnection with, and understanding of the past brings solutions for the future. It’s an immaterial process. That is the reason why the artist is choosing the medium of painting for this research.
Ancestor’s worship – is visualizing this topic from a very personal point of view.




Text by Maria Pavlova




Wo endet Natur, wo beginnt die Zivilisation? Dass nicht nur diese Frage keineswegs so einfach gestellt oder gar beantwortet werden kann, sondern vielmehr auch der Gegensatz Natur-Technik als dessen Voraussetzung höchst fragwürdig erscheint, thematisiert Maria Pavlova in ihrer Malerei spätestens seit ihrer Werkreihe I am not your mother (2013/14). Behutsam, aber doch unnachgiebig, konfrontiert sie die Betrachtenden in Arbeiten wie Pragmatic Space (2013), Elysium (2013/14) oder DNA Modifier (2013) mit irritierenden Kippbildern der Wirklichkeit: Wo verlaufen die Grenzen zwischen Repräsentation und Interpretation, zwischen Realität und Imagination, zwischen Kunst und Künstlichkeit, zwischen freiem Ausdruck und Manipulation?  

Ganz nah holt Pavlova in diesen Arbeiten Instrumente und Ausstattungen des Labors an sich und ein Publikum heran und scheint damit auch zu fragen: Wie kann das sinnlich Wahrnehmbare, die Erscheinung, fixiert werden – und sei es nur für einen Moment? Das Gemalte stellt bei Pavlova Strategien des Konstruierens und Sich-zu-Sehen-Gebens zur Diskussion. Petrischalen, Vitrinen und kuriose Apparaturen verzeichnen Spuren des Menschlichen, zeugen vom forschenden Blick der Malerin und dem Gestus einer teilnehmenden Beobachtung, mithilfe dessen sie stets auch ihre eigene Position als Schaffende mitverhandelt.

Ganz zu Beginn des Arbeitsprozesses an einem Bild steht für Pavlova nicht selten eine Fotografie. Gezielt und pragmatisch setzt sie diese als Hilfsmittel ihrer malerischen Reflexion ein. Aber auch ohne dieses Ausgangsmaterial oder das Wissen darüber trifft einem beim Betrachten scheinbar unvermittelt ein Barthes’sches punktum: etwas, das aus Konventionen der Wahrnehmung ausschert und den Blick freigibt auf die Graubereiche des fragwürdig gewordenen ‚Wirklichen‘: Pavlova lenkt die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Rahmung unserer Denk- und Bildwelten und macht deren Brüchigkeit und Kontingenz bewusst: So liebäugeln Arbeiten wie If you think of something else (2008) oder You drilled too deep (2013/15) mit Elementen des Fantastischen. Auch kommerzielle Bildsujets wie Schneewittchen (Dislocation/Snowwhite, 2008) oder frisch fröhlich grinsende Smileys (Happy Birthday, 2009) werden mitunter aufs Tableau zu bringen – mit einem Augenzwinkern, versteht sich. Pavlova erlaubt sich und ihren Bildern, höchst eigenständige Perspektiven zu etablieren und bestehende Blickordnungen zu hinterfragen.

Ihre Arbeiten stehen aber auch für ein Ausloten des Raumes als Bühne: Wo ist die Stimmung geblieben, angesichts der Vermitteltheit der Malerei, worin besteht die Ästhetik technischer Gebrauchsgegenstände und entindividualisierter Waren? Wo beginnt und wo endet das Bild im Bild und die jeweils dazugehörige Rahmung (Running back home, 2011)?

Pavlovas junges und ambitioniertes Oeuvre lässt sich als ein Plädoyer auf das Bauchgefühl in einer von Intellekt, Industrie und modernen Technologien geprägten Lebenswelt lesen: Eine Brise Melancholie inklusive. Es ist eine subtile Poesie, die die Künstlerin unserer conditia humana hier abgewinnt und mit viel Fingerspitzengefühl konsequent entfaltet.

Antonia Rahofer
April 2016




Let’s take a walk, shall we?

(by Anna-Sophie Fritz, Vienna 2018)

Strolling through Maria Pavlova’s artwork, we come across a very serious kind of humour concerning the relationship of us humans with our surroundings.

The motifs she chooses range from landscapes (Grandmother, 2009) and animals (Rabe, 2013) to futuristic settings (Let´s do something real, 2010), and reflect the search for a clear position in humanity’s ongoing struggle—where do we stand between nature and civilisation, between raw pagan energy and technical endeavours? Far from forcing her personal answers upon the spectator, Pavlova’s paintings instead testify to her own questions. As her observations vary, so do the figures in her artwork and her brush: from the calm and self-aware Observer (2006) to the energized Bhutoman (2008), oblivious to his surroundings.


read more ...




Text: Vera Zavarzina

Chroma key – is a technique that allows to combine two or more images in one composition; in other words, it helps to "remove" the background and substitute it with any image possible. Chromo key is widely used for broadcasting and film production. In everyday language, the material used of a vibrant green colour made of paper or fabric is also called chroma key.

In her works, Maria Pavlova turns the situation upside down – here not the green background of the chroma key is filled with a suitable decoration, but instead the chroma key studio itself appears in her landscape paintings as an unexpected protagonist and an alien character. The world on the Pavlova`s paintings is literally turned inside out: the space of the green room that is initially supposed to separate the inside from the outside becomes restricted itself, while the nature that is intended to serve as its inside contents turns into the outside surroundings.

The exhibition Green Room questions the possibility for the human of an urban environment to return to the primary nature. In her art practice, Pavlova systematically addresses the traditional subject of the nature, and the problem of its representation in the context of contemporary art is the one influenced this series in particular. The other question that the artist is concerned with is the revival of the painting as a medium in the context of contemporary art. In 2015, Pavlova used to live in Mongolia and spent two months in Brazil living with Indian tribes afterwards. Still the deep meaning found by Gauguin in the nature existing "before civilization" turns out to be impossible to conceive for the human of the postmodernist paradigm, where such categories as authenticity and singularity are happen to be undermined. The pristine nature remains out of reach, and it seems that the only thing left for a modern age human are the images of nature produced by the culture, including the mass culture of films created in the dimension of the infamous chroma key. Our experience is tend to be based on the fabricated images, even when we face the nature directly, and the inevitable green box on Pavlova`s paintings is a constant reminder of that fact. Come to think of it though, does the modern age human populating the city environment needs this pristine nature that is too difficult to grasp and too dangerous to survive in? At the time when the nature that the modern human is drawn to, even if not consciously, is the kind of nature that has already been "domesticated" by the culture and civilization and is safe and "pleasing to the eye". It is easy and pleasant for the consumption, similar to all the other products of the mass culture. And, as one of the means of constructing this convenient type of nature serves chroma key - an artificial space easily filled with anything that is satisfying and appealing to the eye. For five years, Pavlova used to work as a set designer for the theater and opera, and this experience, undoubtedly, has proved to be essential for the Green Room creation.

The reason of using the green colour for the chroma key is that the human body doesn`t contain any of it, which makes it easy to remove any unnecessary background during the film production; even in nature, this shade of colour is practically impossible to find. On Pavlova`s paintings chroma key is a product of civilization that competes with nature persistently making its presence seen and offering the viewer its artificial and skilfully crafted all-purpose substitute.

Art pieces of Ekaterina Medvedeva presented at the exhibition were carefully selected from the Blagodatovs collection by the artist herself, and are considered rather as a reference point in her contemplation about the possibility of modern regression towards the naive form.

Maria Pavlova was born in Moscow, but grew up in Vienna, where she had moved as a child. And, therefore, it is her experience based on the identification with Russian culture in combination with the western context that formed her as an artist. In December 2016, Pavlova were introduced to Nikolay and Raisa Blagodatovy and their collection of Lenengrad non-conformist art, where she first saw the works of Ekaterina Medvedeva. This naive art of late Soviet era has become for Pavlova the last possible harbor of the radical Russian traditional character and singularity. Is it still possible nowdays for the skilful artist born in a small village to look at the world with such a child-like eye as Medvedeva did?



Текст: Вера Заварзина

Хромакей (анг. chroma key) – технология, позволяющая совместить в одной композиции два и более кадра; проще говоря, с её помощью можно «удалить» беспредметный фон и подставить вместо него любую картинку. Хромакей активно применяется на телевидении и в современном кинопроизводстве. Используемый материал ядовито-зелёного цвета – бумага или ткань – также в обиходе называется хромакеем.

В работах Марии Павловой ситуация переворачивается с ног на голову: не условный зелёный фон хромакея заполняется подходящей декорацией, но хромакей-студия появляется в её пейзажах как неожиданный и чуждый персонаж. Мир на картинах Павловой оказывается буквально вывернут наизнанку: пространство зелёной комнаты, изначально ограничивающее внутреннее от внешнего, само становится ограниченным, а природа, призванная служить её внутренним наполнением, превращается в окружающую среду.

Выставка «Зелёная комната» ставит вопрос о возможности возвращения современного урбанизированного человека к первозданной природе. В своих работах Павлова систематически обращается к традиционной теме природы, и проблема её изображения в контексте современного состояния искусства – одна из тех, что легли в основу создания серии. Другая задача, которую ставит перед собой художница – реабилитация живописи как медиа современного искусства. В 2015 году Павлова жила в Монголии, затем провела два месяца в Бразилии, среди индейских племён. Но гогеновское обретение истины в природе «до цивилизации» оказывается невозможным для человека, существующего в постмодернистской парадигме, где такие категории, как подлинность или уникальность, оказываются дискредитированы. Первозданная природа остаётся недоступной, и всё, что остаётся современному человеку – это картинки природы, сформированные культурой, в том числе и культурой массового кино, снимаемого в пространстве пресловутого хромакея. Наш опыт опосредован сфабрикованными образами, даже когда мы сталкиваемся с природой лицом к лицу, о чём нам напоминает неизменная зелёная коробочка на картинах Павловой. В действительности, нужна ли современному городскому жителю эта самая подлинная природа, слишком совершенная, чтобы её постичь, слишком опасная для выживания? Природа, к которой стремится – пусть и неосознанно – современный человек, уже «приручена» культурой и цивилизацией, безопасна и «приятна во всех отношениях». Как и другие продукты массовой культуры, её легко и приятно потреблять. Одним из способов конструирования такой комфортной природы и служит хромакей, искусственное пространство, которое можно заполнить чем угодно, лишь бы оно доставляло удовольствие и радовало глаз. На протяжении пяти лет Павлова работала художником-постановщиком для оперы и театра, и этот опыт, несомненно, оказался принципиально важным в создании «Зелёной комнаты».

Зелёный цвет в изготовлении хромакея используется не случайно: такого цвета нет в человеческом теле, что значительно облегчает удаление ненужного фона в кинопроизводственном процессе; даже в природе такой оттенок практически не встречается. На картинах Павловой хромакей, продукт развитой цивилизации, конкурирует с природой и, настойчиво напоминая о себе, предлагает зрителю её искусственно и искусно созданный универсальный заменитель.


Работы Екатерины Медведевой из коллекции Благодаровых, также представленные на выставке, были отобраны самой художницей и, скорее, обозначают отправную точку для её размышлений о возможности современной регрессии к наивному состоянию. Мария Павлова родилась в Москве, но выросла в Вене, куда переехала в детстве, и идентификация с русской культурой соединилась в её опыте с западным контекстом, сформировавшим её как художницу. В декабре 2016 года Павлова познакомилась с Николаем и Раисой Благодатовыми и их коллекцией ленинградского искусства нонконформизма, где она впервые увидела работы Екатерины Медведевой. Наивное позднесоветское искусство стало для Павловой последним возможным пристанищем радикальной русской традиционности и своеобычности: может ли ещё в российской глубинке родиться художник-самородок, способный, подобно Медведевой, смотреть на мир наивным, «детским» взглядом?



CV





Biography

1980 born in Moscow, currently lives and works in Vienna.

Education

2006-2013Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, class of Daniel Richter
2003-2006Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, scenography, class of Erich Wonder
2007-2008Ecole Nationale Superieure Villa Arson, Nice
2008-2009Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, class of Neo Rauch


Exhibitions





Selected Exhibitions

2024"Stone flower", , solo, curated by Lucas Gehrmann, OR exhibition space, Vienna, Austria
2024"NI vs. AI/ Natural Intelligence vs. Artificial Intelligence", curated by Igor Zaidel, BAS CS Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023"De/Mut", curated by Igor Zaidel, BAS CS Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023"On the new. Viennese scenes and beyond.", curated by Anny Wass and Gert Resinger, Belvedere 21 – Museum of contemporary art, Vienna, Austria
2022"Das Blaue vom Himmel", Galerie Wolfrum, Vienna, Austria
2021"Ancestors worship", curated by Hans Ahnert, artists statement, Parallel, Vienna, Austria
2020"Unidos por el arte …", curated by Arnold Chaves, Museo de Guanacaste, Liberia, Costa Rica
2019"Found paradise", Galerie Sternstudio, Vienna, Austria
2019"Magic of nature", Fortuna, Costa Rica
2019Residency in the studio of Juan Carlos Ruiz Soto in Tilaran, Costa Rica
2019"Holstogram - Astra laboratory", Artbase, Moscow
2018"Signals", Dessous, Vienna, Austria
2018"Holstogram" curated by Maria Pavlova and Dmitri Egorov, Studio Blütengasse, Vienna, Austria / Moscow, Russia
2018"Every hunter would like to know, where the pheasant is sitting", Stiegenkeller, Vienna, Austria
2017"Two Fold: politics/nature_nature/politics, studio Maria Pavlova
2017"Gradual home", Aa collections, Vienna, Austria
2017"Change of scene",performance with Sarah Rechberger, Suchis offspace, Vienna, Austria
2017"With less balance, than you have on water.", Alte Schiebekammer, Vienna, Austria
2017"Green room", solo show, Sigmund Freud Dream Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
2016"Ailleurs, nulle part", curatorial project with Simon Mraz, Gallery Iragui, Moscow, Russia
2016„Topia“, Kunstraum Pferd, Vienna, Austria
2016„Walpurgis Urban Shamanism“, Urbanland Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2015„Unsellable“, Vienna Artweek, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria
2015„Babylonic Reading/Ulysses“, Performance, Radiokulturhaus, Vienna, Austria
2015„AR+43 just one night“, Studio Carlos Perez, Vienna, Austria
2014„Schiele Poems“, Performance, Leopoldmuseum, Vienna, link
2014„Wavelenght I“, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria, link
2014„Wavelenght II“, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria, link
2014„Life Patented, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria
2014„The Unwritten: Highlights in Emerging Painting“, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria
2013„Openstudio days“, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
2013„I am not you mother“, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
2013„The hidden function of painting”, Baudolino, Vienna, Austria
2013„Parallel – Vienna contemporary art exhibition“, Vienna, Austria
2013„Left-Right Social Plastic“, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria
2012„No Art – Performance“, Pratersauna, Vienna, Austria, link
2012„METAmART – Art and Capital“, Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
2012„Kick - off Kuenburg“, Castle Kuenburg, Reichenau
2012„Cubing of the space“, Fluc, Vienna, Austria
2012„Dog dayz are over“, Stilwerk, Vienna, Austria
2012„Dimesions Variable“, mo.ë, Vienna, Austria
2011„Turn on /turn off“, Studio Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, Austria
2011„Work at Factory II“, Werk, Vienna, Austria
2011„1nightstand“, Studio Judith Rohrmoser, Vienna, Austria
2010„Object in Art“, Gallery Nikola Vujasin, Vienna, Austria
2010„We live and work in Vienna“, Area 53, Vienna, Austria
2009„Malerei heute“, Genossenschaftshaus der Volksbank, Vienna, Austria
2009„½ Crisis“, Galerie Vujasin, Vienna, Austria
2009„Fishermen’s friends“, Wiener Kammeroper, Vienna, Austria
2009„Annual Exhibition“, Academy of Fine Arts, Düsseldorf, Germany
2008„Ach du Lieber Augustin“, Radowan Halle, Vienna, Austria
2008„Die Zelle“, former water control office, Vienna, Austria, link
2008„On the right“ class of Daniel Richter, V.esch. Vienna
2008„Annual Exhibition“, ENSA, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2007„If you think of something else”, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
2005„Cafesätze“, Mousonturm, Frankfurt/Main, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

Theatre – Opera – Film

2014„TTIP-Life Patented“, Art Director
2014„The Dance I Don't Want to Remember“, costumes, Tanzquartier Vienna, Austria
2013„68 Jahre Kriegsfreiheit“, stage and light design, 1 prize competition winner, Theater in der Drachengasse, Vienna, Austria, link
2011„Zona“, setdesign, multi-channel video project at Open Source Gallery by Michael Poetschko
2009„Le Pescatrici“, J.Haydn, stagedesign and costumes, Chamber Opera, Vienna, Austria
2008„Introducing the Karl“, stagedesign, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
2005„4.48 Psychose“, stage and lightdesign, Dietheater Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria, link
2005„Der Anatom“, stagedesign and costumes, Burgtheater production, Vienna, Austria
2004„In the countryside“, stagedesign, Max Reinhardt Seminar, Vienna, Austria


Upcoming





"Stone flower", solo

curated by Lucas Gehrmann


OR exhibition space, Vinzenzgasse 24, 1180 Vienna
September 25 - October 9,2024



Contact





office@maria-pavlova.com


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