Exhibition «Sat — Сад» / Metaphor of human nature, society and human relations./ https://nomadbureauforartresearch.wordpress.com/

November 18, 2023

The National Art Museum of Moldova inaugurates the exhibition SAT-CАД a dialogue in time and space between two generations of Moldovan artists, father and daughter, Vasili Lefter and Tatiana Fiodorova. The dramaturgy of the exhibition space is built on stories that intertwine and form a non-linear narrative about the Moldovan village, man’s place in nature and the world as a whole. The title of the exhibition «Sat-Сад» brings together two cross-linguistic homonyms that sound roughly the same, but have different meanings. For the artist, the words SAT (Romanian) and SAD (Russian) have the same meaning. For the artist, a village is a garden.

In the impending Anthropocene era, with the accelerated development of technology, the pace of life in cities has become increasingly intense, resulting in stress and tension. Added to all this are pandemics, self-isolation and self-policing, which have contributed to this change. At the same time, many people began to consider moving from the urban to the rural environment, where the intensity of stress and pace are lower and the freedom of movement is greater.

Peisaj rural, autor Vasili Lefter (pictura al anilor 70-80), ulei pe carton

One of the stories in the exhibition tells the story of the rural life of the artist Tatiana Fiodorova, now in her third year. The desire to move to the country appeared for the artist right at the time of the lockdown and was conceived as a way to relax through outdoor yoga.

Later, it smoothly evolved into the practice of growing and observing plants, learning about the cycles of nature and the interconnectedness of the individual with the whole—an ecosystem where everything is interconnected.

From the series Invisible Sculptures / Beans, author Fiodorova Tatiana, series of works (the object is based on objects found in an abandoned rural house), 2023

Another story takes us back to the 1970s, a time when the artist’s father was actively working and creating. The exhibition presents a series of photographic portraits of rural residents.

The two stories in the exhibition periodically intertwine to create unique collaborative works. A father and daughter work together, where images of villagers from the past, merging with the plant world, transport the viewer to a unique space that is beyond place and time. In these works, the past and the present form a harmonious and mystical fusion of two eras, reminding us of our roots and our connection with nature, showing that even in the contemporary world, we are inseparable from the past and our environment. Practicing rural life and agriculture, the artist gives the image of the peasant and his house an important role, celebrating the peasant’s deep connection with the land and nature.

SAT-CAД, authors Fiodorova Tatiana, Lefter Vasili, (portraits of peasants from Moldovan villages from the 70-80s, author Vasili Lefter; photo of plants, author Fiodorova Tatiana)

Expoziția «Sat — Сад» este pe de o parte, o cercetarea artistică care îmbină grădina simbolică cu concepte și teme politice și sociale contemporane, care oferă o interpretare artistica a grădinii ca metaforă a naturii umane, societății și relațiilor umane.

The exhibition «Sat — Sad» is, on the one hand, an artistic research that combines the symbolic garden with contemporary political and social concepts and themes, which offers an artistic interpretation of the garden as a metaphor for human nature, society and human relationships.

The Sat-Сад exhibition is part of the Nomadic Art Research Office project, funded by the Swiss Government.