Zolotoy Residential Quarter, Moscow

17.04-19.04.26

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars. *

Walt Whitman

At the fifth edition of the contemporary art fair |catalog|, the SOUZ cultural project presents six emerging artists whose works engage with themes of magical realism and mystical romanticism. Within this space, wondrous and fantastical elements are interwoven with everyday life. Here, magic does not contradict reality; on the contrary, magic exists as a natural extension of this world — without causing surprise or requiring explanation.

In her works, Sasha Nesterkina creates unpeopled spaces that are yet marked by traces of human existence. They are reflections on fragile beauty, sensory perception, and an awareness of the transient nature of life.

Alexey Okishev’s works unfold as a dialogue between color and form, between memory and contemporaneity. He explores how the rigid structure of Socialist Realist composition can coexist with the irrational freedom and boldness of color.

At the core of Tamara Shipitsina’s practice are themes of time and memory. The imagery in her works forms a poetic space where personal experience takes on a universal quality.

The ceramic tiles by Lucy Soloveva from the series The Tale of the Enchanted Little Cat communicate a narrative, where fairy tales are embedded into the domestic environment and perceived as its integral part.

Evgenia Dudnikova creates magical images and characters that exist on the threshold between the real and the imagined. Her visual language is filled with symbols and references, evoking a sense of a hidden, parallel reality.

Anastasia Bezvershuk works with cyanotype, a medium whose deep blue color speaks of infinity, the sky, water, and metaphysical phenomena. In her creative output, she addresses the fragility of human existence — the vulnerability of the body and the inevitability of life’s circumstances.

* The exhibition title is taken from a line by Walt Whitman, a pioneer of free verse. His Song of Myself is part of the collection Leaves of Grass, a book he worked on throughout his life. With each new edition (of which there were several during his lifetime), he added newly written material — so the “leaves” continued to grow.