Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova "Toward the Night"
Francisco Infante is considered a classic of contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures in Soviet unofficial culture. However, he can also be seen as an artist of the world, transcending geography, time, and politics. His creative approach is unique, revolving around metaphors of infinity and the search for harmony between humanity and nature, in the eternal confrontation between the individual and the cosmos – all rooted in unique materials.
Infante is one of the main characters in a major exhibition on kinetic art taking place at the New Tretyakov Gallery until May 10, 2021.
The series "Towards the Night" vividly explores the theme of the vastness and incomprehensibility of the universe. The artifacts in this series are technically complex and meticulously designed, brilliantly executed. At night, the world seems to return to its primal state, as if negating the empirical daytime. It is in this captured phase transition that eternity is revealed.
The exhibition features over 50 photo-artifacts. For the first time in their history, a part of the creative duo's works has been produced in large format, with a print run of 2 + 2 author's prints.
The gallery has taken on a challenging task: instead of presenting winning retrospectives, it aims to showcase the artist in the moment of his current creative state, with half a century of experience in creating "Artefacts," in his relentless attempts to understand the unknown.
Alina Pinsky
The world is infinite and mysterious
"Francisco Infante is a classic of contemporary Russian art, one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. But he can also be called an artist of the world, beyond geographical boundaries, times, and politics. His creative approach is unique: metaphors of infinity, the search for harmony between humanity and nature in the eternal confrontation of the individual and the universe—all of this is based on a unique material.
The gallery has taken on a challenging task: instead of winning retrospectives, it aims to show the artist in the moment of his current creative state, with half a century of experience in creating 'Artifacts,' in relentless attempts to explore the unknown.
The history of Francisco Infante's artistic development is well-documented. In the early 1960s, he defined his main interest: the exploration of the infinity of space and the structure of the Universe. While still a student at the Stroganov School, he, a brilliant draftsman, found the only correct artistic language for expressing the themes that excited him—abstraction and geometry. In the first half of the 1960s, he created works that are fundamental to understanding the essence of his research, such as 'Birth of the Vertical,' 'Spirals,' and 'Red Infinite Line,' which were presented in the gallery's previous thematic exhibition, 'Clear Contours.'
The 1960s were a period of development for alternative art on this side of the Iron Curtain. Working in the genre of abstraction, which was not encouraged in the USSR, Infante engaged in a dialogue with the Russian avant-garde, which proclaimed the total restructuring of the world. However, the young artist thought differently: humanity has no power over the world, and people can only comprehend a small part of it.
Since 1968, Francisco Infante, in collaboration with his wife Nonna Goryunova, has been working on outdoor installations. 'Artifacts' are a kind of interaction between materialized objects and nature. The eponymous series would acquire its final concept in the mid-1970s. Since then, Infante and Goryunova have used and developed their artistic method, which includes, among other things, selecting a single point of shooting manually constructed installations to create visual metaphor-artifacts.
"I found the word 'artifact' in a book by Clifford Simak, which I was designing. An artifact is something that cannot be but unpredictably and mysteriously happens," says Infante.
Infante and Goryunova avoid politics and any ideologies in their art. Their creative laboratory is unique. It's their personal quest and impressions, their special interaction with nature, which has become a symbol of the mysterious and divine.
The series 'Towards the Night' particularly vividly reveals the theme of boundlessness and the incomprehensibility of the universe. The artifacts of this series are technically complex and meticulously thought out, brilliantly realized. At night, the world seems to return to its primordial state, as if negating the empirical—daytime. It is in this sealed phase transition that eternity is revealed.
Alina Pinsky
February 5, 2021"
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper
60 x 90 cm"
1/2 digital print, Fujiflex paper, mounted on Dibond
60 x 90 cm
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 170 cm
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
1/2 Digital print, Fujiflex paper, laminated on Dibond.
60 x 90 cm.
1/2 Digital print, Fujiflex paper, laminated on Dibond.
60 x 90 cm.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper
60 x 90 cm"
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
1/2 digital print, Fujiflex paper, mounted on Dibond
60 x 90 cm
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 170 cm
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
Chromogenic print, Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper.
Edition 1/2 + 2 a.p.
115 x 165 cm.
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
1/2 Digital print, Fujiflex paper, laminated on Dibond.
60 x 90 cm.
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.
Francisco Infante and Nonna Goryunova
Artifacts from the series 'Towards Night', 2020
1/2 Digital print, Fujiflex paper, laminated on Dibond.
60 x 90 cm.
Francisco Infante is a classic figure in contemporary Russian art and one of the key figures of Soviet unofficial culture. Since 1968, Francisco Infante has been working in collaboration with his wife, Nonna Goryunova, on outdoor installations. "Artifacts" represent a unique encounter between materialized objects and nature.