This Mixer Tasty
Visual art -
Russian-born Valentin Popov combines history, art and commentary in
'Romantic Cynicism'
in Huntington Beach.
By RICHARD CHANG
Published: April 03, 2002
Valentin
Popov wants to concoct a cocktail with art history.
The
Russian-born Oakland-based artist takes iconic, recognizable images from art
and history and adds his own layers of paint, commentary and mystery. The
result is a colorful, humorous blend of new and old, real and imagined,
idealistic and sarcastic. It's a style he calls Romantic Cynicism.
Through April 14, the Huntington Beach Art Center is presenting
``Val Pop'' -- new paintings, monoprints and mixed media by the 46-year-old
artist who has been featured in several California galleries, in Ukraine and
Russia, and at the California Museum of Arts & Crafts in San
Francisco.
It's a significant show for the art center, which emerged
from a $380,000 deficit two years ago to a current $35,357 surplus.
``Valentin has a different attitude, even though he's an American,''
said Darlene DeAngelo, the center's curator of exhibitions and programs.
``When he came to America, he was like a kid in a candy store. He said
colors don't exist like this in Russia, and tried many different types of
mediums. He was very experimental.''
Popov never intended to
immigrate to the United States, according to the show's catalog. About 12
years ago, he was visiting friends at Stanford University. During a day trip
to San Francisco, he walked into a random gallery without an appointment and
showed his only set of transparencies.
``I had no idea how the
business of galleries and museums worked here and neither did my friends,''
Popov said. He tried the same approach at the San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art and won the attention of curator John Caldwell, who referred him to the
exclusive Djerassi Artists Residency Program in nearby Woodside.
Popov spent
much of 1990 at Djerassi, and returned last year for another stint. He
developed a style anchored by Rembrandt and classical Russian training. But
modern artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol also had a major
influence.
``I just believe I can create something new by combining a few
different known things, including history of art,'' he said.
Most of the
works in the Huntington Beach exhibit were created during his most recent
Djerassi residency.
MIXING IMAGES WITH WORDS
``Val Pop'' features two major
classes of work: oil and enamel on aluminum panels, and monoprints with
mixed media.
The oil and enamel paintings consist of two to eight panels
positioned together. The panels generally depict a scene from nature, and
Popov has imprinted words or phrases to complement each image.
``Life is
painful, suffering is optional,'' ``If you seek it, obviously you don't
see'' and ``Be kind'' are aphorisms that float on clouds, underline sunsets
and swim in pools of water. At times, single words such as ``sky,'' ``love''
and ``dreams'' are embedded in the panels, covered with layers of color and
paint.
On several works, Popov has handwritten enigmatic passages, perhaps
inspired by his encounter with the Dalai Lama. He painted a portrait of
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader last year and has incorporated Buddhist
imagery and inspirations in his work ever since.
One of the largest pieces
is the eight-panel ``I Am a Part of All That I Have Met,'' which takes its
title from Alfred Lloyd Tennyson's poem ``Ulysses.'' A nude man appears to
be swimming in a river of multicolored lava, and his arms seem to be melting
into his surroundings. The words in the title occupy the center of each
panel, infusing the work with the visual movement of reading.
Popov's
monoprints -- black-and-whites with touches of color -- venture more into
the sardonic. The artist juxtaposes mythic or historic images with odd and
amusing adages and irreverent scribblings. In ``Nothing Is Always,'' a
Cupid-like angel lies dead on its face with an arrow sticking out of its
back. Cuter, livelier Cupids dance along the right border, and bright and
sunny words about spring are scrawled next to the corpse.
Popov plays with
Napoleon and the Sphinx in two works, re-creating historical photographs and
even their old-fashioned, identifying text. But he adds a quirky spin on the
images, imprinting ``Wherever you go -- there you are'' and ``If it sloshes,
there isn't enough'' in a modern font over the prints.
Part Barbara Kruger,
part Duchamp, Popov's monoprints combine history with contemporary
commentary, ultimately providing a sense of play and possibility.
One of the
most clever monoprints is ``Here is No Rembrandt,'' which depicts a hare
sitting on a lily pad. The artist is obviously toying with the words
``here'' and ``hare,'' and seems to be poking fun at both the master artist
and himself in the process. Below the image is the out-of-context message
``Black hare shot in Suffolk,'' and along the left border are strange
doodles of an eye, a fish and what could either be a chemical formula or a
subway map.
Altogether, it comes off as Monty Python in the art gallery,
quizzical quandaries on Colombe Laroque paper.
Not all the works in this
exhibit are funny; some are thoughtful, reflective, even transcendent.
Well-spaced, evocative and engagingly narrative, ``Val Pop'' is a
more-than-modest coup for the art center and for Surf City.
Contact Chang at
(714) 796-6026 or rchang@ocregister.com
Where: Huntington Beach
Art Center, 538 Main St., Huntington Beach
When: Through April 14, 2002
Hours:
Noon-6 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; noon-8 p.m. Thursdays; noon-4
p.m. Sundays
How much: Free