Grigory Maiofis
Was born in Leningrad in 1970. From 1987 to 1990 he studied in the Leningrad Academy – the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture n. a. I. E. Repin, between 1991 – 1996 he worked in the USA, at present the artist is living and working in Saint Petersburg. In 2006 Maiofis received the Betty and Jim Kasson Award, USA, for the series of photographs “Proverbs”. His works are held in museums of contemporary art in Los Angeles and Houston (USA), in the National Gallery of Slovakia in Bratislava, in more than ten Russian museums, in leading corporative and private collections throughout the world.
The Project Artist and Model
In his new project the exemplary post-modernist Grigory Maiofis continues to explore the question of the relationship of the artist and the model (in the broad sense – the subject). How Maiofis’ conceptual art comes into being differs little from that of the traditional way – as it was hundreds of years ago, two take part in its creation – the artist and the model, albeit a girl-model or the problem of the oil price, no less real and palpable for the world of contemporary art. Maiofis has been studying the main metaphor of the relationship of art and life for a long time and with success – the series of works “The Artist and the Model” 2004-2005 became a hit at international art-fairs.
In it the relationships of the creator and the model have been given an ironic and extremely frivolous interpretation with a Freudian underlying message. For the new project the artist has developed satirical imitations of the diversity of styles and genres of painting – from conceptualism to military-historical themes; topical questions – the consumer society, international conflicts and the arms race, as well as eternal values – ballet, academic drawing and the manifestation of libido, have served Maiofis as targets.
In the project “The Artist and the Model” Maiofis-the intellectual brings endless associations together into complex subjects in order that later there be something out of which the painstaking Maiofis-the artist might create a different reality – small c-prints or large-format bromoils: photographs, stuck onto canvases (thus they acquire a painterly softness).
Maiofis works with awkward old cameras, feels the hues of the paper base, carefully selects the depth of silver emulsion and density of printing – no faster than the graphic-artist chooses his materials.
Григорий Майофис. Концептуалист за работой над портретом балерины. Из проекта Художник и модель. Ed. 2 из 12. 2008. C-print. 75х75см. Courtesy Галерея Pop/Off/Art/ Grigory Maiofis. Conceptualist Working on the Ballerina’s Portrait. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Ed. 2 from 12. C-print. 75х75сm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery
Григорий Майофис. Ностальгия. Из проекта Художник и модель. Ed. 1 из 12. 2009. C-print. 65х64 см. Courtesy Галерея Pop/Off/Art/ Grigory Maiofis. Nostalgia. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Ed. 1 from 12. C-print. 64х65,5 сm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery
Григорий Майофис. Многополярный мир. Из проекта Художник и модель. 5 частей. 2009. Бромойль, холст, масло, трансфер. 160х155 см. Courtesy Галерея Pop/Off/Ar/ Grigory Maiofis. Multipolar World. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Bromoil, Oil on Canvas, Transfer. 160×155 cm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery
Григорий Майофис. Фотореализм. Из проекта Художник и модель. Ed. 2 из 12. 2008. Бромойль. 77х72,5 см. Courtesy Галерея/ Grigory Maiofis. Photorealism. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Ed. 2 from 12. C-print. 77х72,5 сm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery
Григорий Майофис. Сырое и вареное. Из проекта Художник и модель. 2009. Бромойль, холст, акрил. 92х109 см. Courtesy Галерея Pop/Off/Art/ Grigory Maiofis. Raw and Boiled. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Bromoil, Acrylic on Canvas. 92×109 cm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery
Григорий Майофис. Воображение правит миром. Из проекта Художник и модель. Диптих. 2009. Холст, масло, бромойль трансфер. 54х72 см. Courtesy Галерея Pop/Off/Art/ Grigory Maiofis. Imagination Rules the World. From The Project Artist and Model. 2009. Diptych, Right Part. Bromoil, Oil on Canvas, Transfer. 54×72 cm. Courtesy pop/of/art Gallery