Zakhar's contribution to the development of contemporary art is also the fact that he co-founded Shishaki Art Fest, an international contemporary art festival in the village in Ukraine. The principle of the fest is to invite famous artists from different countries and place their works next to emerging local Ukrainian talents.
A stands for Anna Minakova, Z for Zakhar Borisenko.
The union of two artists was founded in 2013. From the very beginning, the main creative principle is cooperation and collaboration, and the mediums can be anything from paper to gold and diamonds. Anna is often responsible for concepts, visual solutions. Zakhar contributes with a lot
of engineering, technical solutions, knowledge
of different crafts.
The union of two artists was founded in 2013. From the very beginning, the main creative principle is cooperation and collaboration, and the mediums can be anything from paper to gold and diamonds. Anna is often responsible for concepts, visual solutions. Zakhar contributes with a lot
of engineering, technical solutions, knowledge
of different crafts.
From the beginning, another important principle of the work – inviting other artists to collaborate or referring to other artists and their works. A-Z duo has worked in different years with Protey Temen, Irina Petrakova, Jean-Christophe Couét, Varya Alay, and Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov.
Titanium and precious metals and gemstones became one of the main mediums of the duo, and therefore the launching of Epic Contemporary Art Jewellery, creating jewellery according to the principles of art, is logical in this story. Zakhar became the founder of Epic, and Anna became a partner and creative director. Epic Contemporary Art Jewellery is a continuation of the tradition of jewellery by artists, begun by Dali, Calder, Picasso and other greats.
A-Z's work has been exhibited in a number of museums, galleries and art fairs. Among these are the Shchusev Museum of Architecture in Moscow, Art Fragment Gallery
in New York, Contemporary Art Week in Hong Kong.
in New York, Contemporary Art Week in Hong Kong.
Anna is also an art theorist: together with the contemporary artist Alexander Shchurerenkov, they created Kommersant Art, a supplement to Russia's main business newspaper, and published
it as editors-in-chief.
it as editors-in-chief.
A-Z. The Artistic Duo
Falconnier
A joint project of A-Z, contemporary artist Irina Petrakova and the Shchusev Museum of Architecture. A collection of three art jewellery pieces to be presented at the exhibition "Falconnier. Architecture of Light", which opens at the Museum of Architecture in April. Each of the designs is inspired by Falconier's famous glass blocks.
A joint project of A-Z, contemporary artist Irina Petrakova and the Shchusev Museum of Architecture. A collection of three art jewellery pieces to be presented at the exhibition "Falconnier. Architecture of Light", which opens at the Museum of Architecture in April. Each of the designs is inspired by Falconier's famous glass blocks.
The Seeds of Life
Object "Glass with Seeds", blackened silver, glass
An homage to Sunflowers by Van Gogh and at the same time
a reminder of the Soviet tradition of sunflower seeds as popular snack. The transformation of the mundane, down-to-earth thing into an art object. The viewer becomes a co-creator: the seeds
in the glass have to be touched by hand to feel the discrepancy between what the eyes see and what the hands feel: visually, with the help of handwork and silver blackening, a perfect illusion of real seeds in the glass is created, only to the touch you can feel how heavy and cold they are.
Object "Glass with Seeds", blackened silver, glass
An homage to Sunflowers by Van Gogh and at the same time
a reminder of the Soviet tradition of sunflower seeds as popular snack. The transformation of the mundane, down-to-earth thing into an art object. The viewer becomes a co-creator: the seeds
in the glass have to be touched by hand to feel the discrepancy between what the eyes see and what the hands feel: visually, with the help of handwork and silver blackening, a perfect illusion of real seeds in the glass is created, only to the touch you can feel how heavy and cold they are.
Performance, installation
and video art "I am sick of you, Pavel".
Paper
"I am sick of you, Pavel" is a torn into parts "I am sick of you, Jack" graphic artwork by Pavel Pepperstein. It was Zakhar's way of expressing his disagreement with the famous artist's social behavior. The performance was documented by Anna (video and photos accompany the installation).
and video art "I am sick of you, Pavel".
Paper
"I am sick of you, Pavel" is a torn into parts "I am sick of you, Jack" graphic artwork by Pavel Pepperstein. It was Zakhar's way of expressing his disagreement with the famous artist's social behavior. The performance was documented by Anna (video and photos accompany the installation).
What is Epic?
Music, video art
The renowned musician, composer and founder of the Zurich Classical Music Festival Alexander Boldachev was invited by the A-Z to collaborate to transform visual art to music. A-Z was preparing a solo exhibition in 2021 titled "Epic Jewellery. From Bridges to Space Architecture" at the Shchusev Museum of Architecture. Boldachev locked himself in complete solitude
in the museum's unique space, the historic Ruin wing, and recorded six compositions for harp reflecting different aspects of A-Z's work.
Music, video art
The renowned musician, composer and founder of the Zurich Classical Music Festival Alexander Boldachev was invited by the A-Z to collaborate to transform visual art to music. A-Z was preparing a solo exhibition in 2021 titled "Epic Jewellery. From Bridges to Space Architecture" at the Shchusev Museum of Architecture. Boldachev locked himself in complete solitude
in the museum's unique space, the historic Ruin wing, and recorded six compositions for harp reflecting different aspects of A-Z's work.
Nautilus
Precious object
The Nautilus Goblet 2020 is a collaboration between Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov, A-Z and the Fragment gallery. A complex design combines with an expert craftsmanship – three unique cups are made by Epic Jewellery. Each is finished in a unique shade of anodized titanium and set with rare precious stones, including a 69-carat beryl. One more art object is a 3D-printed model of the object. It was produced in a limited quantity, only ten of them were made, making it a unique collector's piece
in itself.
As Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov states: "I have been studying various protection and ceremonial rituals for the last few years and I'm working on a Ritual Museum project, the centrepiece of which will be the nautilus goblet. Such vessels were considered
a symbol of abundance during the Renaissance and were often used to commemorate the important events of the era. We are creating a new goblet, using a nautilus shell, representing the story of the global pandemic, and serving a protective function
in addition to commemorative one".
For the first time Nautilus project was presented at Cosmoscow art fare, then – in several museums and art galleries.
Precious object
The Nautilus Goblet 2020 is a collaboration between Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov, A-Z and the Fragment gallery. A complex design combines with an expert craftsmanship – three unique cups are made by Epic Jewellery. Each is finished in a unique shade of anodized titanium and set with rare precious stones, including a 69-carat beryl. One more art object is a 3D-printed model of the object. It was produced in a limited quantity, only ten of them were made, making it a unique collector's piece
in itself.
As Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov states: "I have been studying various protection and ceremonial rituals for the last few years and I'm working on a Ritual Museum project, the centrepiece of which will be the nautilus goblet. Such vessels were considered
a symbol of abundance during the Renaissance and were often used to commemorate the important events of the era. We are creating a new goblet, using a nautilus shell, representing the story of the global pandemic, and serving a protective function
in addition to commemorative one".
For the first time Nautilus project was presented at Cosmoscow art fare, then – in several museums and art galleries.
Resistance
Titanium, gold, silver, diamonds
A collaboration between A-Z and New York based artist Jean-Christophe Couet.
Brutalist shapes combine with Braille writing in diamonds
in gold and silver jewellery pieces. As part of the project,
10 titanium artworks with embossed R-E-S-I-S-T-A-N-C-E
in Braille were created.
The concept behind is the resistance of metal and diamonds
to the tools, the resistance of a person – especially a blind person – to the outside world.
Titanium, gold, silver, diamonds
A collaboration between A-Z and New York based artist Jean-Christophe Couet.
Brutalist shapes combine with Braille writing in diamonds
in gold and silver jewellery pieces. As part of the project,
10 titanium artworks with embossed R-E-S-I-S-T-A-N-C-E
in Braille were created.
The concept behind is the resistance of metal and diamonds
to the tools, the resistance of a person – especially a blind person – to the outside world.
Selected works
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