Packhouses is a cultural center at Strelka, located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers in Nizhny Novgorod. The openwork structures used to be a part of the Main Pavilion of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896. Today, this historic landmark continues to live on as a cultural center with a 426-seat concert hall and an art gallery. The new cultural cluster was designed by SPEECH Architectural Bureau.
A glass panoramic wall overlooking Strelka and the historic part of the city makes this concert hall stand out. The concert hall has a reverberation time of 2 seconds which makes for a great sound. Packhouses won the "Creative Space of the Year" category at the Russian Creative Awards and the Made in Russia Award presented by Snob magazine. The cultural space also won "Best Cultural Site" and "Choice of the Year" at the Innovative Public Interior Awards.
Marina Shishova is a member of the Artists Trade Union of Russia, the International Academy of Contemporary Arts and the Creative Union of Professional Artists. Abstract art, symbolism, magic realism, intuitive painting, expressionism, digital painting are among the styles she works in. Many of her works are in private collections in Surgut, Krasnodar and Crimea.
She is not afraid to experiment with materials and unusual techniques, such as alla prima, mixed media, multi-layered painting technique. For instance, when working in the multi-layered technique, the artist uses acrylic paint, oil, texture paste. Profound philosophical meaning is reflected in Marina's works. Through art she encourages us to try to view the world from a different angle. She puts her heart and soul, her understanding of the world we live in each of her paintings, trying to convey the feelings of harmony and serenity.
Alyona Cherkashina is a mosaic artist. The mosaic style is a blend of art and techniques, such as sketching and working with materials. Understanding of history is also vital to the creative process. Natural stones, marble, smalt, stained glass are mostly used in mosaic making. The artist works in the Art Nouveau style. She also devised her own method of mosaic laying. Alyona makes all kinds of mosaic art: paintings, panels, art objects, interior decor items.
In the process of making her art, she employs direct and reverse mosaic techniques and practices different methods. For instance, the Opus Vermiculatum method is like a halo surrounding the mosaic image, thus emphasising an outline around a subject. Opus Musivum is another method used by the artist, where modules of different shapes and sizes are used. Hammer and hardie, or martellina and tagliolo in Italian, are used for cutting mosaic materials - small blocks of stone, tessera. Her art is always a unique and her products are always collectibles.
Ivan Demyanenko is an artist, professor in Nizhnevartovsk State University, member of the independent art group Balok, participant of numerous exhibitions. In 2014, he was awarded the Medal "For Contribution to the Russian Fine Arts" by the Creative Union of Russian Artists. Ivan deals in various art forms: graphic arts, visual arts, pottery, sculpting, video art. He identifies his work as ethno-futurism. Creates sculptures based on the myths of the ethic peoples of the North, interprets them through the prism of modern art.
Literary figures inspire him in the process of making pottery. His paintings are based on his personal observations and interactions with the surrounding world. As for graphic art, it's even easier - his goals inspire him. Art objects are based on experiments, and video art encourages to interact with the world. Various forms of art require a lot of materials. For instance - grog, porcelain, ceramic glaze, engobe are used in pottery. Canvas and oil are his preferred tools for painting. Paper - for graphic art. As for his art projects, mixed equipment is usually required.
Andrey Olenev is a surrealist artist, member of the informal art association Muddlehood, co-founder of TOLK Gallery, which has been promoting street artists from Nizhny Novgorod since 2014. He works in various techniques: painting, pyrography, installations, to name a few. He is famous for monumental murals on the facades of old houses in the historic center of Nizhny Novgorod. He is also known for multicomponent wooden objects that completely or partially disguise the picturesque images and provide tactile interaction.
As an artist, Andrey appreciates the texture of wood as a material. Participant of group and personal exhibitions, festivals and projects of street art in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm and other cities of Russia. In 2018, for instance, he held a solo exhibition, Hinges, at the Annenkirche in St. Petersburg. The hinges binding the winged altarpieces have an alternative meaning — it could be a symbol of death, connection, creation, change, mystery.
Konstantin Pyanov is one of the most fascinating artists of present-day Nizhny Novgorod. The artist spent a few years in Eastern Siberia, and this contact with Asian and Siberian cultures gave his artistic vision a fresh new dimention, opening up new ways of exploring the symbolism, the depth and combining it with the artist's elegance and the general direction of his work. Konstantin depicts the visible world using concepts and features that in no way belong to the three-dimensional world.
On the one hand, Pyanov's color combinations are meant to emphasize his innate masculinity, even toughness, so he gravitates toward golden ochre, swampy brown, silver grey or soot, while at the same time, the general coloring of his works suddenly bursts with bright scarlet, carmine, and yellow tones. The artist is not afraid to experiment, mixing local colors with complex color combinations - a monument to the artistic courage and the unconditional versatility of the artist's vision.
The artist utilizes traditional technique of watercolor painting as well as the styles of monotyping and fabric painting. The topic of village life, depicted in her paintings, remind you of simple yet beautiful things in life. Lyudmila likes to experiment with color, light, texture.
Her works, full of imagery and philosophical concepts, were exhibited at numerous exhibitions, regional and all-Russian. Some of her works are in private collections in the country and abroad.
The artist paints with acrylics on hardboard or canvas and is not limited to any particular style. He prefers to work uninterrupted, so that no one would disturb the creative process. Pavel Klementyev started exhibition activities in 2009. He is a regular participant of various regional exhibitions. His paintings have been displayed in numerous galleries across Russia, including the gallery of the Ulyanovsk branch of the Union of Artists of Russia, Vladimir Lenin's Apartment Museum, creative space "Quarter", national competition of student art creativity “Archiperspective” in Yekaterinburg.
Pavel also illustrates children's books. He does a lot of sketches before finding a precise concept that fits the literary hero. He tries to look at his work through a child's perspective. Great attention is paid to details. Illustrations to Andersen's and Carroll's books made it to the finals of the All-Russian contest "New Children's Book" organized by Rosman publishing house.
