Alexei Gordin (RU/EE, b. 1989) studied painting in Tallinn and Helsinki. He currently lives and works in Tallinn. Gordin’s work fluently combines a range of different media, including drawing, photography, video, and performance.
The main subject matter of Gordin’s artistic practice is the absurdly stereotypical thinking and behavioral patterns of contemporary society. Gordin’s works are almost always narrative in nature, covering often exciting or annoying situations. In the early years of his career, filthy slums, empty industrial landscapes, marginalised and stigmatised social groups, and vulgar jokes constituted the core atmosphere of Gordin’s work.
The harsh reality of the art world has now become one of Gordin’s main focuses, with the artist himself becoming the protagonist. Scenes scattered with black humor deconstruct the image of the professional art world as something elitist and glamorous. Gordin’s work has won several photography competitions, and in 2017 he was awarded the Young Painters’ Prize in Vilnius.
The video work No More Hope For Lovely Creatures deals with the collective memory of post-soviet trauma, presented in a form of a journey through the architectural remains of the Soviet Union.
The Moscow House installation shows an office building in Vilnius which was planned to become a Russian culture and business center. Due to both technical errors and the politicisation of the house by the Lithuanian government, the project was never finished. With a symbolic series of ritual dances through the house, Gordin seeks to underline the complex relationships between East and West.
www.kogogallery.ee/en/artists/alexei-gordin
www.alexeigordin.com
Artist is presented by Kogo Gallery
