(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov - E-E WEIGHT. SLEEP.

(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
E-E WEIGHT. SLEEP.

4 June – 30 July 2016

The E-E WEIGHT. SLEEP. cycle – pronounced Ye Ye Weight.
Sleep., the Russian original being
Е-Е ВЕС. СОН. (ye ye vyes. son.) – consists of two parts,
each giving expression to a dual perception, with each part
differing in terms of material, implementation and concept.
Within the graphical images belonging to the first part of his
cycle, started in 2009, (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
has been noting down the bifold realities of his human
experience, on a daily basis. This is what he recorded on a
little piece of paper:

‘Наличие цифр в рисунках “сон” и “вес” является
скрупулезным фиксированием физического состояния
моего тела’: ‘The numbers in the sleep and weight drawings
constitute a meticulous record of the physical state of my
body.’

Kozlov has thereby preserved two substantial measured
variables relating to his human existence. With respect to
daytime consciousness, what is in view is the actual state of
being in the material – heaviness – measured in terms of
WEIGHT, this being between 74.0 and 78.8 kg. In relation to
the state of sleeping consciousness, what is in view is the
time of day when the subject goes to sleep, i.e. the moment
when his state of being beyond the material begins (SLEEP):
between 11 pm and
9 am. This leads to him experiencing something of his
fluctuating self that would have escaped him were it not for
these records; to a degree, he is objectivizing himself.

These images, which are works on paper, are annotated with
illustrations, and in part they form a collage; they are mainly
on A4, and currently they span approximately a hundred
graphic works.

The second part of the cycle has been in progress since 2015,
and up till the present time it consists of thirty-two individual
paintings and two triptychs. To be more specific, these are
canvas paintings painted on both sides that are
predominantly in 70 x 50 cm format. The duality within these
double-sided paintings is to be found not in the change from
waking consciousness to sleeping consciousness, but rather in
the interplay between front/back, outer/inner, main
perspective and counter-perspective.

The figurative-abstract motifs have been painted on the
reverse of the canvas, and having originated here they are
then mirrored on the front. The metaphors of counter-space
and space are pertinent at this point: the counter-space
imperceptible to the eye – the reverse – is projected into
visible space, the front. Here the motifs are further
fashioned, thereby generating new cubic content. On the
reverse the motifs are more emblematic, more rudimentary,
whereas on the front they are more complex, more lyrical.
Hypothetically speaking, it is possible for both counter-space
and space to be perceived simultaneously, the painting
undergoing a longitudinal rotation in the mind of the
observer.

Both parts of the cycle have been executed in their own
particular style. Common to both are Kozlov’s distinctively
elegant and assured lines, his feel for colour and contrasts,
and his delicate humour. The evident effervescence – not only
of the figures, but also of the abstract elements such as the
lines, circles and numbers – takes the cycle beyond a
conceptual approach.
E-E WEIGHT. SLEEP. begins with technical notes relating to
human existence, and subtle harmonies emerge as it
progresses; prerequisite to this is an ability to develop and
master an exacting technique. Both parts of the cycle are still
in progress, and their completion has not yet been envisaged.
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov

who was born in 1955 in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia,
was an active member of the Leningrad avant-garde group,
Новые художники (the New Artists) in the 1980s. The first of
his international art exhibitions was in 1988. The artist has
been living in Berlin since the 1990s, where, between 1994
and 2008, together with Hannelore Fobo, he held exhibitions,
concerts and other events – at Russkoee Polee / The Russian
Field, which was his Berlin-based studio.

Kozlov’s extensive work encompasses a number of large
cycles such as Miniatures in Paradise, dated 1995. Following
their completion, the sixteen 5 m x 2 m-format paintings
were flown from flagpoles in front of the Berlin Victory
Column. Kozlov’s cycles frequently span a long period of time
(Century XX, Part 1: 1982 – 2008, and Part 2: 2008 – 2016).
Kozlov formulated his observations relating to present-day art
into his theory of CHAOSE Art (pron. ‘House Art’), with the E
being a reference to the signature he has been using since
2005: E-E, pronounced ‘ye ye’.

For the purposes of its ‘Gallery of Obsessions’, the Charley 05
album (edited by Maurizio Cattelan, Massimiliano Gioni and
Ali Subotnick, Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, 2007)
named Kozlov in its list of one hundred ‘great solitary
masters’.

In recent years (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov has participated in
exhibitions at the New Museum, New York (Ostalgia, 2011),
the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (The New are Here!,
2012), La Biennale di Venezia (The Encyclopedic Palace,
2013) and the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow (Zero Object,
2014) – and this list is to be augmented by an upcoming
exhibition at Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz (Notes from the
Underground, 2016).

The curator Hannelore Fobo studied linguistics, politics and
Latin American studies at the Free University of Berlin,
followed by East European studies at postgraduate level. Fobo
started organising art exhibitions in the late 1980s, and she
has been curating Evgenij Kozlov’s works since meeting him
in 1990. In 2003, she published The Leningrad Album, a
collection of Kozlov’s earlier erotic drawings. She is a member
of the AICA (the International Association of Art Critics).
In her capacity as an author, Fobo focuses on aesthetics. Her
essays include Bild und Abbild (Image and Depiction),
Schiller. Idee, Ideal und Schein (Schiller: the Idea, the Ideal
and the Appearance). Planned forthcoming works also have
Kozlov’s cycles as their theme, starting with E-E Fairy Tale
and Century XX.

EGBERT BAQUÉ CONTEMPORARY, Berlin, is to publish (E-E)
Evgenij Kozlov: E-E WEIGHT. SLEEP., a 192-page
(German/English) book authored by Hannelore Fobo, written
to accompany the exhibition that is running in parallel with
the 9th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. Opening
reception: Saturday 4th June 2016, 7 – 9 pm.

EGBERT BAQUÉ CONTEMPORARY
office@berlin-contemporary-art.com
www.berlin-contemporary-art.com