Collection Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Isupov, Sergei (Ukrainian, b. 1963) |
Title |
Invisible Man |
Date |
2009 |
Medium |
Stoneware/Stain/Glaze |
Material |
Ceramic |
Technique |
Stoneware, stain and glazes |
Height (in) |
34.000 |
Width (in) |
17.000 |
Depth (in) |
13.000 |
Credit line |
Gift of Dr. Harold F. Daum |
Notes |
Since the 1990s, ceramist Sergei Isupov has been esteemed for his assured ability to fuse sculptural form and meticulously illustrated surfaces. He regards his volumetric sculptures as a canvas for the paintings that either complement or complicate the works' story-telling potential. Working in porcelain or stoneware, Isupov uses traditional hand building and sculpting techniques, while narrative elements are applied using stains and glaze. His work describes an eerie world that hovers between reality and representation, with subjects ranging from primate-like creatures to human portraits and figures. Many viewers have noted Isupov's affinity for Surrealism's disruptions and metaphors, especially as found in the dream worlds of Salvador Dali and René Magritte. "I am a student of the universe and a participant in the harmonic chaos of contrasts and opposites: dark-light, male-female, good-evil," Isupov explains. "I create a new, intimate universe that reveals the relationships, connections, and contradictions as I perceive them." This statement serves to underscore the idiosyncratic nature of Isupov's sculptures and the slippery quality of his visual narrative. Russian-born Sergei Isupov comes from a family of artists. His mother is also a ceramist and his father and brother are both painters. Isupov studied art from a young age, including classical painting and ceramics. He received BA and MFA degrees in ceramics from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia. He has had solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. as well as Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and France. Isupov's work is included in major collections internationally, including Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Arts + Design, New York; and the de Young Museum, San Francisco. The artist has resided in the United States since 1994, and currently splits his time between his studios in Cummington, Massachusetts, and Tallinn, Estonia. |
Object ID |
2010.02.08 |
Object Type |
Ceramic |