The Curator’s Corner series features the artists whose works are currently on view at KickstART Gallery as they respond to questions provided by Ted Hadfield, the curator of exhibitions at KickstART Gallery.

This article focuses on the artist Marat Paransky. Marat has created artworks with found objects and images and the raw materials for this group of works are his older artworks, his studio waste (leftover paints and glues) and other artist’s studio waste. These elements are mixed and remixed into new works in several cycles. Some of the resulting collages and assemblages may go through three to five iterations, each one several years apart.

Of the current exhibition and Marat’s work, Ted Hadfield writes “as curator the immediate intrigue in The Industrialist and the Seer exhibition by Marat Paransky and Peter Dunn was the idea of the ‘Found Object’.

“I was immediately taken in, yet somewhat confused by the connection and sameness in both bodies of work, but with an overall distinct difference in approach and intent.

“Paransky’s work is composed of found 3-D objects that he has reinvigorated with new meaning through distant memories and specific moments in his life. Often the artworks are revisited, disassembled, rebuilt with new meaning, depth, titles and purpose.” 

KickstART Farmington: Which artists (historical or contemporary) inspire you the most and how do they influence your work and life?

Marat Paransky: I gravitate towards art with dark humor, absurdity and left-leaning ideas. These are things that are part of my everyday life and art. I make absurd sculptures and text-based, 2-D works that poke fun at the art world. I enjoy seeing and reading about Dada, early Surrealism, the Moscow Conceptualists, and post-Soviet art. More specifically: George Grosz, Kay Sage, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Komar & Melamid, Tom Friedman, Gary Larson, etc.

KSF: Which writers, poets, musicians, and filmmakers have most influenced your work and life?

MP: I don’t really have favorite writers, but I do tend to read nonfiction, focusing on environmental issues, politics, history and, of course, art. If I do read fiction, I prefer dystopian and absurd literary works. These works provide a context for my art production and an understanding of the world around me. Some nonfiction writers: Kate Brown, Svetlana Alexievich and Susan Sontag. 

In music, I am influenced by harsh, aggressive, avant-garde and other music. I don’t care for Pop. My two loves are extreme metal and Industrial music, but the latter (with its found sound and sampling) is the main influence on the artwork in this exhibit. Einstürzende Neubauten, Laibach, Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly.

In film, I enjoy old Soviet and French comedies, Charlie Chaplin, dystopian films and psychological thrillers. The works of Terry Gilliam and Jean-Pierre Jeunet are some of my favorites.

This body of work is, at its essence, about slowing down and looking around. What objects and materials pass through our hands on a daily basis?

Marat Paransky

KSF: If you were to go live on a small island, name one book, one film, one artwork, and one album you would want to take with you.

       

MP: Book: “Voices from Chernobyl” by Svetlana Alexievich, film: “Kontroll”, artwork: “Sunrise / Sunset” by Erik Bulatov, and album: “Tactical Neural Implant” by Front Line Assembly.    

KSF: How do you understand the meaning or purpose of your artistic practice?

MP: This body of work is, at its essence, about slowing down and looking around. What objects and materials pass through our hands on a daily basis? I look at the marginal things that have served their purpose and whose existence was not really noticed. Or art that never made the cut or was abandoned (almost always my own art). Further, I explore what happens when there’s no defined plan or endpoint. There’s just something liberating about not finishing a project at a specified time or point. And everything is fair game for being pulled into a work or pulled away from one, creating something else. 

The exhibition “The Industrialist and the Seer”, featuring artwork by Marat Paransky and Peter Dunn is on view at the KickstART Gallery through September 28th, 2024.

Curator’s Corner is made possible through the kind support of Artpack Services, Inc.