MARIA AGUREEVA

Maria Agureeva

Agureeva’s work is concerned with the process of objectification, as a result of our desire to change in order to escape social pressure, as well as to find our true appearance and genuine content.

The artist shows how the body becomes a hybrid space where materiality of flesh is connected with an individual consciousness and identity. Agureeva reveals the inherent conflict between our natural features and artificial standards, and throughout her practice the personal and individual is inevitably faced with standardised and imposed.

Agureeva explores how we model ourselves under the pressure of cliched attractiveness, polishing our bodies just like billions of images are polished online. In this exploration the artist looks for the boundaries beyond which the body becomes an object like any other.

Agureeva uses mostly synthetic materials, as a means to stress once again that body transformation is a kind of artificial self design which has become a modern form of religion.

Maria Agureeva works with installations, objects, videos, performances, sculpture. She is a participant of IX international film festival Andrey Tarkovsky “The Mirror”, Ivanovo (2015), a nominee of Kandinsky Prize (2013), a finalist of Arte Laguna Prize (2018) and the winner of Arte Laguna special prize (2018).

Education

The St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design (Department of Graphic Design, 2003 — 2009)
ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art, Moscow) (2014-2015)

Awards and Residences
2018 18th Line Los Angeles (from August to September)
2018 Winner of the Laguna Art Prize (special prize)
2017 Residence Unlimited New York (from February to April)
2013 Nominee of the Kandinsky Prize

Personal exhibitions
2018  It’s possible to imagine what will remain after, Anna Nova Gallery, Saint-Petesburg
Dust, Electrozavod gallery, Moscow

2015  Binary promises, Parallel program of the 6-th Moscow biennale of contemporary art, Pechersky Gallery, Moscow

2014  Gardens of compromises, Museum Erarta, Saint-Petersburg

2013  Those Females Who Can Wreck the Infinite, Parallel program of the 5-th Moscow biennale of contemporary art, Pechersky Gallery, Moscow

2012  Citius, altius, fortius! Commodification, Project Fabrika together with GridchinHall, Moscow

Excavations. Ground 0, GridchinHall, Moscow

2011  Formotsvet (Form and Color) series, GridchinHall, Moscow

Formotsvet (Form and Color) series, Kadieff Gallery, Helsinki

2009  Formotsvet (Form and Color) series, AL Gallery, Saint-Petersburg

Festivals
2015  The Mirror, International film festival Andrey Tarkovsky, Ivanovo

Forma, Contemporary art festival, Moscow

Can, Contemporary art festival, Krasnodar

Selected group exhibitions
2017  Just cause, Black Ball Projects, New York

2016  Unofficial laguage, WINZAVOD Contemporary Art Center, Parallel program of the V Moscow International Biennale For Young Art, Moscow

All eyes on me, WINZAVOD Contemporary Art Center, Moscow

Nominibus Trivialibus, Sinonimis Selectis, Moscow State University’s Botanic Garden (the “Apothecary Garden”), Parallel program of the V Moscow International Biennale For Young Art, Moscow

2015  Mirrors, MMOMA, Moscow

One within the other. Art of new and old media in the age of high-speed internet, MMOMA, Moscow

Developing of freedom, Project Fabrika, Moscow

2013  I would have not been painting now, Parallel program of the 5-th Moscow biennale of contemporary art, Agency Art.Ru, Moscow

State order, WINZAVOD Contemporary Art Center, Moscow

2012  Project Cena (Price), Parallel program of the III Moscow International Biennale For Young Art, Agency Art.Ru, Moscow

2011  Art in Mind, The Brick Lane Gallery, London

2010  Contemporary art festival Psikhonavtika, Saint-Petersburg

Resume, All Gallery, Saint-Petersburg

Press
2017  Denis Paley, Silent-mag, March, 2017

2016  Zlata Adachevskaya, Eight clicks, Dialogue of Arts, January, 2016

Sergey Babkin, Interview, Wonderzine, February, 2016

2015  Olga Abramova, To Olympus in lace lingerie, Art Terrytoty, August, 2015

Anna Komissarova, The Tired of coquetry, Around art, August, 2015

Ksenia Belolutskaya , Interview, The forest magazine, June, 2015

2013  Alexandra Rudyk, Interview, Interview, November, 2013