VENICE.- The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts opened the exhibition Man as Bird. Images of Journeys organized as part of the Collateral Events of the 57th International Art Exhibition.

The show Man as Bird explores the interaction between discoveries in optics and art – fields that are intrinsically connected with an ambition to understand the world and to determine man’s place in it. Throughout history, people have tried to push the limits of the visible and find new angles of view by carrying out expeditions to distant places or improving the very means of seeing. This historical journey can be compared to the inner transformation which humans experience throughout life.

The exhibition is supported by its official partner, Mail.ru Group (My.com international brand) and presents 14 Russian and foreign artists working with different media: sound and light installations, video, photography, and art objects. Along with telling the viewers about history and offering them an unusual visual experience, it also reflects the latest trends in contemporary art where advanced technologies coexist with traditional media, pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and perception. The immersive feeling of traveling through time will be enhanced by the space of the exhibition – the 15th-century palazzo Soranzo Van Axel. The old brick walls, lancet windows and exposed wooden beams create a special atmosphere and cultural context for interpreting the pieces created by contemporary artists. Some of the artworks will be site-specific.

The exhibition Man as Bird. Images of Journeys is the first international project of the new direction of the Museum. Pushkin Museum XXI has been launched in order to create an exhibition platform for various forms of contemporary art – from painting and sculpture to experimental cinematography and virtual reality.

Pushkin Museum XXI introduces the main historical phases of today’s artistic practices and takes on an educational function in the domain of the new contemporary art language.

Marina Loshak: “This direction of the Museum is aimed at developing new connections between classical and contemporary art, between the Russian and the international creative process, at encouraging a dialogue between representational forms of contemporary art, and at allowing the audience to meet those artists who use the language of this new media.”

Olga Shishko: “For the 2017 Biennale, we have invited internationally known Russian and foreign artists who can extend the angle of vision – from the familiar 120 degrees of human vision to the 360 degrees of a bird’s eye. The aim of the project is to open a gateway into another dimension through which viewers can travel. The artists talk about a lack of physical boundaries and spaces. Many works presented in the exhibition will be included in the collection of Pushkin Museum XXI.

Curators: Marina Loshak (Director of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts), Olga Shishko (Head of the Cinema and Media Art Department, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts)

Participants: Semyon Alexandrovsky (Russia), Tanya Akhmetgalieva (Russia), Dmitry Bulnygin (Russia), Sofia Gavrilova (Russia), Marnix de Nijs (the Netherlands), Irina Zatulovskaja (Russia), Yurii Kalendarev (Russia – Italy), David Claerbout (Belgium), Martin Honert (Germany), Fabrizio Plessi (Italy), ‘Provmyza’ art group (Russia), Mariano Sardón (Argentina), Leonid Tishkov (Russia), Masaki Fujihata (Japan).