Enter Sandman Drawing

Today I, Valeria Kemnits, am a graduate of Moscow Folk Arts Higher School and Stroganov Moscow State University of Industrial And Applied Arts as well. However, my career as an artist started long before that – in 1997 to be more exact. Since that moment I have participated in different exhibitions, contests and academic competitions. In 1998 I took part in an exhibition held in the Central House of Artists. Since that time, my works of art have been traveling all over the world. Whereas I have kept participating in exhibition projects in Moscow and all around my homeland. In 2004, after leaving the art school, I had a chance to hold my own exhibition in Sweden. Over 30 paintings and drawings wereexhibited and sold by auction at the Stockholm cultural center JFC.Right after the auction, I started a series of paintings «Hansa. Dream of time» describing kingdoms of Middle Age Old Hansa with their mysterious and dreamlike aura. The presentation of the project took place in the Moscow House of Nationality in 2006. Perhaps after that exhibition I decided to express the everyday informal life and holidays of my friends. I depicted 10 main subcultures of temporary youth. In 2007, the exhibition «Subcultures» was held in the MJCH center. However, I was never satisfied with what had already been achieved. I am an admirer of Metallica`s music. That is why I decided to create the series of works illustrating songs of this great band, which are included in this booklet devoted to Metallica. «Metal up your heart» is the name of this non-commercial project as each song of this band is in my heart. For this issue I chose 20 songs which are close to me in spirit and meaning. Everything is there: suffering and hope, pain and happiness, love and hate, life and death, anger and serenity…Everything that can be found in people’s hearts and souls. Well, I dare to say that now we can not only listen to Metallica`s songs but also see them. I am not a clip maker…But I freeze the moment of the song and show the way I see it!