A.A. Bakhrushin Central State Theatre Museum

Russian artist, sculptor, master of experiments, and creator of installations and performances. He was born in Norilsk in 1969.

"Art for me is an integrated stream, and I do not care which forms it takes,"-says Bartenev. He creates absurd, whimsical, provocative, entertaining fantasies. They are inspired by art mythology, dreams of scientists, porno-anime. An artist in his wild costumes and make-up is himself an object of art. Thus, Bartenev continues and develops ideas of Russian futurism. Bartenev's synthetic performance "Snow Queen" (1993), an avant-garde interpretation of H. Andersen's fairy tale, went to the London Albert and Victoria museum and the Royal Festival Hall (SBC).

The artist turns chaos of a masquerade to a strictly organized show. His actors have become biological models for extravagant sculptural forms. The names of his shows render bacchanalia of dance and color, the atmosphere on stage: Botanical Ballet, Gogol-mogol or Adventures of Invisible Warmth in Russia, Pants on a Stick, If my mouth was 160 cm wide, Attack of Bread Crumbs, Sausage goes under the Water, Wind from the Sun Flowers.

Bartenev has created costumes for performances: Bluebird of Happiness by Maurice Maeterlinck in New York, Elisabeth Barn by Daniil Kharms in Moscow, Cinderella by sir Peter Maxwell Davis in Hamburg. He has published tow books: "Humans in Colours, Anthology of the Russian Body-art" and "Russian Illustrator of Glamorous Life, History of the Russian Magazine Illustration of the Late 90s."

His led sculpture "Break of Connection- Field of Lonely Hearts" was exhibited in the Russian pavilion at the biennale in Venice in 2007 and has become a hit in the London "Riflemaker" gallery of modern art. Bartenev has made a series of performances for the Robert Wilson Watermill center in the USA: Attention! Cats and Dogs on the Road (2005), Emily Likes TV (2006), and A Competition of Animals (2007) with Dita von Teese.

In 2009, he organized and supervised III International Festival of Illustration (Moscow), made a workshop in Domaine de Boisbuchet (Georges Pompidou Centre), and Vitra Design Museum, France.

In 2012, Bartenev made a design of an exhibition of treasures in the Royal Library of Denmark.

Designer Gallery

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