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<- Natalia Grezina
Bio

Natalia was born in Sevastopol, 1987. She graduated from the Moscow State University (Sevastopol branch), Faculty of Natural Science (Geography). Studied contemporary art at “Free workshops” (MMOMA, Moscow), Faculty “Newest art”. Creative fields: installation, objects, embroidery, graphics.

Natalia’s artistic practice is a constant dialogue with the many aspects of existence and aims to find a reconciliation between society, individuals and nature. It aims is to find a common language between these three elements through the feminine medium of embroidery, which characterizes her practice in the strongest way. For Natalia, embroidery is a serious practice: even though its connotation to the female world has always played against it, it’s a specific medium that allows her to combine different materials together and -at the same time- to include an emotional component into the objects through the use of colours and gore aesthetics. The objects she creates through embroidery are made of both organic and artificial materials: polyethylene is her modern canvas, which gets filled with soft cotton and is sealed with woollen thread and polished beads. They are a metaphor of human nature: even though we might be surrounded by a hard, manufactured layer, we always have something soft on the inside. And always a story to tell.

Currently lives and works in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

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CV

Personal exhibitions
2020 — Sunken Garden, Chrysalid gallery, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2019 — “Gift”, MMOMA, Moscow, Russia
2019 — “Under the mountain”, CCI Fabrika, Moscow, Russia
2019 — “The black sea always turns red”, Raw Streetphoto gallery, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2018 — “Fame”, Elektrozavod gallery, Moscow, Russia

Selected group exhibitions
2020 — Masks of Time, Ural Vision gallery, Ekaterinburg, Russia
2020 — Radical Cleansing, Park gallery, Moscow, Russia
2019 — “Blood in the corner of the eye”, The others art fair, Rurin, Italy
2019 — “Technogenic”, Hiedanrannan Kartano, Tampere, Finland
2019 — “Will you be a witness? 2007/19”, CCI Fabrika, Moscow, Russia
2019 — “Faces of time”, R-broker workshop, Moscow, Russia
2019 — “Sans (t)reve et sans merci”, Cube moscow, Russia
2018— “Workshop’18: systems of secret symbols”.
Special project of the 6-th Moscow Youth Biennale of Contemporary Art. MMOMA
2018— “Convenient art”.
Special project of the 6-th Moscow Youth Biennale of Contemporary Art. MMOMA, Moscow, Russia
2018— “Artistic".
Special project of the 6-th Moscow Youth Biennale of Contemporary Art at Memorial House of A. Vasnetsov, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2018— “u.A…”, XL gallery, Moscow, Russia
2017-2018 — MMVXIIi*, Elektrozavod gallery, Moscow, Russia
2017 — Workshop’17: there, where no one has dreams: from sacred geography to no-being
MMOMA
2016 — “Cultural code. Non-random generation”, Museum of Tauris, Simferopol, Crimea
2014 — “Power of light”, Kroshitsky Museum of Arts, Sevastopol, Crimea
2012— “Reconstruction of idleness”, Faina gallery, Sevastopol, Crimea
2010 — International festival ‘balaklava odyssey’, Mikhailovsky ravelin, Sevastopol, Crimea

Art residencies
2016, 2014— “Bereg”, art residency, Nikolayevka, Crimea

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Interview

Q&A: Natalia Grezina. Spot on the ceiling and mystic thriller

We have interviewed Natalia Grezina, the artist from Rotterdam. Natalia’s technique is embroidery on polyethylene, she brings her memories to life in the form of mysterious symbols.   

Q. How can we name the style of your works?

A. It is hard to summarise everything i do in one specific category. There is a lot of mythology and history in my works, which intertwine with routine symbols of everyday life.  Perhaps, I feel comfortable with term “magical realism” when thinking of my artistic expression. If this could be viewed as a direction, this is probably best describing my art. 

Q. The exhibition “Gift” is devoted to objects in history and modern culture. What was the most valuable gift in your life? 

A. I keep a lot of souvenirs and gifts, each one of them holds some dear memories about time and places, about emotions and people.  Even a simple card can make me sentimental sometimes and affect me for a long time.  The main thing is not about a specific gift but about the time travel I could experience with them. 

Q. Project “One hundred years war” resembles a mystical thriller. When is the next edition? 

A. Nice comparison with a thriller ) Two editions were issued last year with a little break in between. And now, I feel, it is time to get calm and properly prepare to the next one. Symbols and ideas are already in the air, so I plan to tell not one but a few bloody stories in the coming year. 

Q. Where do you get your inspiration from? 

A. It just comes to me. But this sudden inspiration still consists of intense mix of emotions, read books, heard conversations that I came across. even an ordinary stain on a ceiling could be the source of inspiration if we learn to notice details. 

Q. What is the perfect country for creativity? 

A. If you feel urgency to create you can do it in anywhere. There are many examples proving this point from grim past of many countries. There are a lot of pros and cons in each situation, and more often than not hard times can be fruitful for an artist. But no doubt, there are places with more opportunities, for example, in terms of building a successful career. However, it all depends on a person. ⠀

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Wounded Heart (2)

2021

The Glow Bone

2020

The Moon Bone

2020

The Hole Bone

2020

The Wood Bone

2020

The Rimy Bone

2020

Burden

2019

Ash dagger (2)

2020

Ash dagger (4)

2020

Cliffs

2021

Ash dagger (3)

2020

Dagger from the project "Hundred Years' War"

2020