Andrej Golder on Overcoming Style: Art Between Abstraction and Figuration

Russian-born artist Andrej Golder (Ekaterinburg, 1979) has opened a solo exhibition at Galleria Brescia after a three-month residency during which he transformed the gallery into a temporary studio. The show presents the latest developments in his eclectic, exuberant yet 'cultured' painting, which aims to transcend the distinction between figuration and abstraction. In an interview published in the exhibition catalogue, Golder discusses the fusion of high and popular culture, parody, and intellectual ambition. He argues that the rigid separation between abstract and figurative art is a Cold War legacy, with the CIA promoting abstraction as a symbol of the 'free West' against the figurative realism of the East. Golder cites historical precedents such as Worringer's 'Abstraction and Empathy' and Renaissance debates on the 'paragone' to show that all art is inherently abstract. He views styles as academic labels applied retroactively, preferring to see them as 'artisanal' methods. His work incorporates references from Bacon to Baroque still lifes, using quotation as a means to 'revive' ideas and foster reinterpretation. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring the interview conducted by Stefano Castelli.