The decisive experience is always the one that resurfaces in memory even the next day. So, when one discovers clear artistic research, it is experienced as a fruitful nourishment for the soul, capable of providing a strong stimulus for the ongoing condition of study and inquiry. Two years ago, when I learned that Polina Barskaya had moved to Umbria, I welcomed the news with great joy. I decided to visit her, and throughout the journey, I imagined the reasons behind her choice.
Polina Barskaya, “Hotel Flora Breakfast”, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 cm, 2024, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
As soon as I arrived at her studio, my questions vanished in the light of a welcoming atmosphere, serene calm and vibrant inner sensitivity. After all, how could one approach the issue of her paintings without acknowledging her deep emotional relationships? Indeed, I truly believe that her realistic painting naturally stems from a genuine self-awareness of the life she leads and a transparent honesty. This gives rise to her first solo exhibition in Italy, titled Maternità, scheduled at the Richter Gallery in Rome until January 11, 2025. From this exhibition project, an intimate secret of the artist’s practice is revealed: the ability to detach from futile appearances, to nourish oneself with strong bonds of affection and peaceful silences.
Polina Barskaya, “Casa Howard”, acrylic on canvas, 35 x 25 cm, 2024, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
Thus, if in the paintings on display at Richter Gallery she portrays herself and her family members, she does so to reveal a personal and irreplaceable set, as an authentic act, where nothing stands for anything else, and no one represents anything; rather, everything is autobiographical, everything is a portrait. Those who stubbornly seek to impose a psychological interpretation on such works are mistaken, as I am strongly convinced that the characters, closed in their reserve, do not intend to tell their stories but simply are as they appear in that moment. And where subjects are rarely multiple, she only seeks to expose their affinities with the intention of illustrating traits of their personalities without any deep penetration into their characters. Here lies the strength of her painting: each artwork is sharp, at times conveniently inflexible towards its own and others’ physical forms. Due to this choice, Barskaya unconsciously takes a risk, as she allows herself to be guided by an impulse – her own – leading her to work on the same subjects, aligning her needs with her immediate relationships.
Polina Barskaya, “Maternità”, installation view, Galleria Richter Fine Art, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
At this point, one might ask what is meant by autobiographical? It is not merely about portraying; rather, it coldly reflects the course of one’s own life. It is more an action, a personal and careful choice that unfolds with truth and attention to one’s memories. Thus, these special experiences clearly narrated are the tale of a slow and contemplative life, as Barskaya reclines gently on a sofa, sitting calmly in a hotel room or relaxing in outdoor landscapes. This continuous state of inactivity – which the philosopher Byung-Chul Han considers not a weakness, but rather a different form of intensity in today’s life, excessively focused on performance – is the highest value, as it is in the patience of waiting that the unexpected and the new mature. Suspension, doubt, sleep, and boredom are for Barskaya all states of inaction, the most precious and intense moments of life, capable of bringing forth a truly free time.
Polina Barskaya, “Maternità”, installation view, Galleria Richter Fine Art, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
Therefore, when looking at the works on display, in Barskaya, more than in any other research, human presence coincides with physicality and her bare life: it is an unconsciously attractive corporeality where being undressed or partially nude is a sign of a free and unconditional situation. Whatever the occasion depicted, one ultimately agrees with Giorgio Agamben, who argues that nudity is difficult to grasp because it cannot be held; it is not a state but an event belonging to time, a form that relates to the relationship between body and garment. But I believe there is more than this, as this sublime absence of secrecy unveiled in nudity is not found only in the bodies but also in the faces. These are reliefs, marked by expression lines, drawn with clear and rigorous contours, possessing a direct, frontal gaze, with small, sparkling eyes that, even though they appear devoid of expression, shine with an innate stillness.
Polina Barskaya, “Maternità”, installation view, Galleria Richter Fine Art, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
Based on these considerations, it is not entirely inappropriate to ask whether the stark simplicity of the figures hints at the intention of a narrative. No, I do not believe so; rather, there is the outline of a figurative geography for places, such as hotel rooms, parks, vacation spots and other marginal destinations in relation to common travels. Yet, to answer this question, it is worthwhile reflecting on the painting itself. All the works present the same approach, the same interest in details, and the same refusal to idealize them; the color patches sculpt corporeality, emphasizing anatomical and spatial particulars. I am quite certain that Barskaya simply paints the story of her own life, perpetually identifying herself in the phase of motherhood, where, by presenting herself in such clear brightness, she becomes extremely simple and accessible. Thus, painting the truth does not mean faithfully copying a subject, but rather translating it through acute observation. It is pure realism, in which the image is sculpted in a volumetric dimension, breaking down into a weave of brushstrokes that encapsulate the sensation of luminosity, the transparency of light and its continuous radiation.
Polina Barskaya, “Maternità”, installation view, Galleria Richter Fine Art, courtesy Richter Fine Art, Roma, ph. credit Eleonora Cerri Pecorella
The bristles of the brush stain the canvas by alternating quick strokes with slower moments, always measuring the liquid quality of the color and the pressure of the brush. Conversely, in other cases, she works on the purity of tone to convey the weight and thickness of each form, as we can see in hair waving in the open air or the shapes of garments that are sometimes soft and billowing, and at other times more wrinkled. So, what should we make of these images if not to interpret them as narratives? Certainly, to love them, to relive them to the point of breathing their air once more, enjoying the echo of silence that they emanate. For this reason, I believe there is more than an autobiographical narrative in Barskaya’s work; there is something that relates to the awareness of living, of experiencing everything that a slow life, if one knows how to find it, can offer.
Info:
Polina Barskaya. Maternità (Motherhood)
Galleria Richter Fine Art,
Vicolo del Curato, 3, Roma
19/11/2024 – 11/1/2025
Monday to Saturday from 3pm to 7pm, or by appointment
www.galleriarichter.com
Maria Vittoria Pinotti (1986, San Benedetto del Tronto) is an art historian, author, and independent critic. She currently is the coordinator of Claudio Abate’s photographic archive and Manager at Elena Bellantoni’s Studio. From 2016 to 2023 she was the Gallery Manager in a gallery in the historic center of Rome. She has worked with ministerial offices such as the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and the Central State Archive. Currently, she collaborates with cultural sector magazines, focusing on in-depth thematic studies dedicated to modern and contemporary art.
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