Sergei Bugaev (Afrika) Explores Rebus and Puzzle Evolution in Copper Works
Sergei Bugaev, known as Afrika, born in 1966 in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, lives and works in Saint Petersburg, Miami, and New York. His artistic practice involves creating rebuses on copper plates, evolving from Soviet rebuses of the 1950s into unsolvable puzzles. Three types of works emerged: reappropriated rebuses with distorting elements, mirror-like surfaces reflecting light, and displaced images including an engraving by Durer and a crucified Christ crowned by Lenin's head. This shift from symbolic rebuses to affective puzzles reflects broader changes in visual culture and identity, particularly the disintegration of Soviet identity. The works, such as Rebus #1,9 and Regressive Puzzle STF9, critique representation and engage with eidetic memory, referencing figures like Mnemonist Sh. described by A.R. Luria. Bugaev's solo exhibitions include the Russia Pavilion at the XLVIII Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy in 1999, and shows at 1-20 Gallery in New York and Galerie Vedovi in Brussels. Group exhibitions span institutions like the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His projects include set designs for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and a role in the film 'ASSA' directed by Sergei Solovjev. The artist's work addresses themes of memory, language, and visual overload in contemporary society.
Key facts
- Sergei Bugaev (Afrika) was born in 1966 in Novorossiysk, Black Sea.
- He lives and works in Saint Petersburg, Miami, and New York.
- His art involves rebuses on copper plates evolving into unsolvable puzzles.
- Three work types include distorted rebuses, mirror surfaces, and displaced images like Durer engravings.
- Solo exhibition at Russia Pavilion, XLVIII Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy in 1999.
- Group exhibitions include State Russian Museum and Guggenheim Museum.
- Projects include set designs for Merce Cunningham Dance Company and film role in 'ASSA'.
- Themes explore memory, language, and Soviet identity disintegration.
Entities
Artists
- Sergei Bugaev
- Afrika
- Oleysa Turkina
- Victor Mazin
- A D Haun
- Tommi Groniund
- Peteri Nisunen
- Bracha Lichtenberg-Ettinger
- Peter Noever
- Louis Grachos
- Rebecca Quaytman
- Timur Novikov
- Rudi Fuchs
- Guert Imanse
- Francesca von Habsburg
- Alla Efimova
- Dan Cameron
- Margarita Tupitsyn
- Alana Heiss
- Jurgen Harten
- Michael Schirner
- Teresa del Conde
- Alla Mitrofanova
- Junichi Shioda
- David Ross
- Elisabeth Sussman
- Wim Beeran
- John Cage
- Merce Cunningham
- Sergei Kuyokhin
- Sergei Solovjev
- A.R. Luria
- Mnemonist Sh.
- Patient Z.
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- I-20 gallery
- Wikipedia
- Russia Pavilion
- Biennale di Venezia
- 1-20 Gallery
- Galerie Vedovi
- No Name Gallery
- New academy
- State Russian Museum
- Peter Schuengel ACP Gallery
- Pori Art Museum
- MAK-Austrian Museum of Applied Arts
- I'Espace Montjoie
- Fisher Gallery
- University of Southern California
- Queens Museum of Art
- Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
- Wolfsonian
- New World Galleries
- Miami-Dade Community College
- Wexner Center for the Arts
- Southern Exposure
- Project Artaud
- Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA)
- Clocktower Gallery
- Power Plant: Contemporary Art at Harbourfront
- CRDC
- I'Espace Graslin
- Lenin Museum
- Raab Gallery
- Gallery ASSA
- Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
- University of Minnesota
- Stedelijk Museum
- Guggenheim Museum
- Art Restoration for Cultural Heritage (ARCH)
- World Financial Center
- Rundetarn
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Art Gallery of Ontario
- Badischer Kunstverein
- Sophienholm
- New Museum of Contemporary Art
- Fine Arts Gallery
- University of Maryland
- Jane Voorhees Art Museum
- Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
- Kiel City Art Gallery
- Haus am Waldsee
- Centro National Cultural Reina Sofia
- Oklahoma City Art Museum
- Marble Palace
- Stroganoff Palace
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- Centre d'Art Contemporain
- Picker Art Gallery
- Colgate University
- DePress Art Center and Gallery
- Hope College
- Westem Gallery
- Western Washington University
- Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery
- College of the Holy Cross
- Art Museum
- Cranbrook Academy of Art
- Art Gallery of Mount Saint Vincent's University
- Atlanta College of Art Gallery
- Independent Curators, Incorporated (ICI)
- Drawing Center
- Rye Arts Center
- Le Manoir del la Ville de Martigny
- Dusseldorf Kunsthalle
- Israel Museum
- Central House of Artists
- Museo de Arte Moderno
- Helsinki Festival
- Gallery Vapauden Aukio
- Setagaya Art Museum
- State Museum of Ethnography of the Soviet People
- State Art Museum of Kramskogo
- Tacoma Art Museum
- Des Moines Art Center
- Institute des Hautes Etudes en Arts Plastiques
- Paul Judelson Arts
- Phyllis Kind Gallery
- Exit Art
- Dunlop Gallery
- Regina Public Library
- Mendel Art Gallery
- Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation
- Wright Art Gallery
- University of California
- West Sawtelle Gallery
- Exhibition Pavillion on the Harbour
- Bluecoat Gallery
- Grafiart Gallery
- Kaj Forsblom Gallery
- Kulterhuset
- Art Atrium
- Culture House
- Dionysius Gallery
- Memorial Union Art Gallery
- Young Unknowns Gallery
- Palace of Youth
- Club NCNC
- Meiz House of Culture
- United Museum of Creative Community
- Gdansk Kantor Sztuki
- Vodocanal Club
- Kirov Palace of Culture
- New Theatre
- Russian State Parliament
- Vzjliyad (Look)
- Russian State Television
- Merce Cunningham Dance Company
- University of California, Berkeley
- City Center
- Paris Opera
- Lenignrad-St. Petersburg experimental orchestra
- Lincoln Center
Locations
- Novorossiysk
- Black Sea
- Saint Petersburg
- Miami
- New York
- NYC
- Venice
- Italy
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Rotterdam
- The Netherlands
- St. Petersburg
- Russia
- Finland
- Salzburg
- Austria
- Pori
- Vienna
- Paris
- France
- Los Angeles
- Queens
- Montgomery
- Alabama
- Columbus
- Ohio
- San Francisco
- Toronto
- Canada
- Nantes
- Leningrad
- London
- UK
- Minneapolis
- MN
- Amsterdam
- Copenhagen
- Denmark
- Helsinki
- Karlsurhe
- Germany
- Baltimore
- Maryland
- Rutgers
- New Jersey
- Kiel
- Berlin
- Madrid
- Spain
- Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma
- Montreal
- Hamilton
- Holland
- Michigan
- Bellingham
- Washington
- Worcester
- Massachusetts
- Bloomfield Hills
- Halifax
- Nova Scotia
- Atlanta
- Georgia
- Martigny
- Switzerland
- Dusseldorf
- Jerusalem
- Israel
- Moscow
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Voronich
- USSR
- Tacoma
- Boston
- Des Moines
- Iowa
- Saskatchewan
- Saskatoon
- Liverpool
- Turku
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Aarhus
- Davis
- Gdansk
- Poland
- Riga
- Latvia
- Kuzneckij Bridge
- Berkeley