From many things studied in different institutions, painting has been Anna Škodenko’s most consistent companion. Flexibly interpreted, it appears again and again in her work, although the uses different media. The precise and skilful labour that she corrects with the help of the camera (as is nowadays done by almost every painter who does not work solely on emotions) seems to bring her joy and satisfaction. “Her huge advantage is her realist attention to detail in both thought and formal expression. Her Russian mother tongue and cultural background drag her into the unknown; Western rationality and aesthetics keep her from branching out. Most importantly, she is able to present her weakness for the exploratory and theoretical as self-sufficient artistic expression. In such a symbiosis, the grey mundanity of Realism acquires the potential to become silver,” says Tamara Luuk, curator of the exhibition.
Anna Škodenko (1986) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is characterised by a lyrical and analytical approach to her medium and visual image. The format of her work depends on the conceptual frame, which she creates through textual writing and which is conditioned by a specific place, context and theme. Škodenko graduated from the painting department at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2009), complemented her studies at Chelsea College of Art in England and later in the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow, and graduated from the master’s program at Glasgow School of Arts (2017). She has been awarded with the Eduard Wiiralt Prize (2016) and Köler Prize Grand Prix (2018). In 2019 Škodenko participated in a residency at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels.
