Tête-à-tête Painting

Ani and Andrew Abakumovs firstly saw this technique, when they got acquainted with the other artist’s black and white works. They asked themselves: is it possible to make a colorful art-object in the same manner? Nobody did it before. Andrew Abakumov, who is a talented mathematician and programmer, creates a unique algorithm, then he prepares the “canvas” by driving in nails. And after that, Ani Abakumova pulls on treads for hours, days, weeks, and months – that is the way how the image gradually appears. The reach number of tones is most likely made by a little number of colored treads: the color palette expands significantly because of numerous crossings and layering. By the way, it is interesting to know that it takes about 4 kilometers of threads to make small round art work. And if to speak about a big one, it usually takes 20 kilometers of threads. Just like all artists, Abakumovi’s started their artistic path by making endless copies of world-known paintings. To be more specific, they referred to Pre-Raphaelites, who often used photos in the initial stage of work. Main sources of inspiration for Abakumovi were “Lady Lilith” by Dante Gabriel Rosetti and “Dolce far niente” by John William Godward. Ani explains: “These works are so filled with emotions, that it is doubly interesting to re-create them with treads… From a very young age, we all are considered by social obligations and inner anxiety (we are thinking about school, university, job, family circumstances, and more global things)… When I firstly saw “Dolce far niente” I felt that carelessness. I often return to Godward’s painting to catch that feeling even for a moment. First of all, I wanted to create an art-work with a therapeutic effect. Like Matisse, who painted many joy things during the war. In my opinion, art is not the only reflection of reality, but it is also a way to run away from it, to relax, to recover”. Ani and Andrew Abakumovs artworks are not only about female beauty but also about the state of mind. While choosing the subject, artists prefer characters that convey emotions: calmness, love, and joy. And they offer the viewer to stop, to feel the moment, and to forget about the crazy rhythm of modern life. Art-works, that were made for the current exhibition, is based on vintage images, that were taken from an old album of 1910th and 1920th. Artists found the album in Paris, while they were walking through one of the flea markets.