Direct from Venice – For one night only: Russian visionary artist and naval-engineer Alexander Ponomarev surfaces at a secret and spectacular location near Frieze. Invited crew take to the rusting bowels of a gutted period building-cum-submarine before being ushered into an opulent captain’s chamber. Here the artist-sailor displays plans for ongoing projects and forthcoming global adventures. Warmed by lashings of Russian vodka, crew then review a video of an arctic campaign. Maya: The Lost Island records the disappearance of an island in the Barents Sea. Acting according to Ponomarev’s plan, the 5th Fleet of the Russian navy deploy smoke-canisters while the artist redraws the map.
SUBZERO extends Ponomarev’s current project SubTiziano, a full size submarine currently birthed on the Grand Canal in Venice – a collateral project of the 53rd Biennale.
Alexander Ponomarev, whose father was a hero of the battle of Stalingrad, graduated from the USSR Nautical Engineering College in 1979. His career as a seaman left an indelible mark on his artistic practice, which is dominated by epic aquatic installations. In 2007 Ponomarev featured in the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. When not crossing oceans he is most at home in France. Shortly after erecting a 100ft periscope beneath the dome of a Parisian baroque church during the 2007 Festival d’Automne, he was named an Officier d’Arts et de Lettres by France’s Minister of Culture.
This exhibition is curated by Nadim Samman, Victoria Ionina-Golembiovskaya and Lisa K Samoto.
SUBZERO is a unique project produced by HIVE Gallery Projects in collaboration with RNA Foundation.
In order to attend this secret event please write an email to subzerolondon@gmail.com.
You will then be sent a map, directions and a time-slot for entry to the location 5 mins from Frieze.
