Irina Kolesnikova

Artist Statement:

"When I started working in textile, one of my sources was miniature Coptic textiles, as a combination of linen background and a colorful image (made of silk). A condensation and a rarefaction of color and texture have become a theme of other works.

I like old, black-and-white photos very much and I play with images from these pictures, using silhouettes, details of dress, signs of a profession. I make collage and then replicate collage in woven technique. You cannot recognize individuals in the pieces in the series Automobilists and Photoatelier because it is not important for me. I like a paradoxical combination of contemporary art language and ancient handweaving technique."

Selected collections and exhibition venues:

Decorative, Applied & Folk Art Museum, Moscow, Russia; (4th International Baltic Minitextile Triennial – traveling exhibition); Musée de Angers, France (International Triennial of Miniature Textiles); Museum Tsaritsino, Moscow, Russia; LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, New York (Small Works in Fiber); GEDOK-Atelierhaus; Beck, Germany (solo exhibition); Smend Gallery, Cologne, Germany; Ost-West Gallery, Basel Switzerland (solo exhibition); Beauvais, France (2nd International Festival of Textiles); Jean Lurcat Museum, Angers, France; Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland; Kunst Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark; West Norway Museum of Decorative Art, Bergen, Norway (Artapestry 2, traveling exhibtion); Recipient: Silver medal, Russian Academy of Arts; Grand Prix, 4th International Baltic Mini-textile Triennial.