Gallery Elena Shchukina: a new, immersive environment for art and design

Opening 24 September 2013

Artist and curator Elena Shchukina is launching an eponymous space in Mayfair this September that

will challenge the traditional gallery format.

Painting, furniture, lighting, objets and wall coverings will be in dialogue, to create an immersive

aesthetic environment ‐ a revolutionary gallery experience. Painting will take the lead, setting the

tone for the interior design and furnishings. Shchukina’s personal interest in painting and her belief

in the power of art to inspire a room setting, are the guiding principles.

"I want visitors to Gallery Elena Shchukina to feel almost as though they are stepping into a painting

when they come here", says Shchukina, who studied interior design in Moscow, Milan and London.

"We are going to work with contemporary designers who will take their cue from the artists with

whom we work to create furniture, rugs, lighting and even jewellery that will all complement and

reflect the paintings that we show. My idea is to create holistic environments that are inspiring,

creative rooms that become perfect living spaces; places that are uplifting, yet also make you feel

comfortable, and ‘at home’."

The first artist to show in the space will be Onyeka Ibe. Now an internationally recognised artist, Ibe

grew up during the unrest that followed the end of the Nigerian civil war. In his formative years he

experienced periods of intense violence that beset the floundering democracy. He realised that his

art could take two paths ‐ either to rail against dehumanizing situations or to capture elements of

humanity in his work. His work reflects the latter: Ibe’s portraits, landscapes and still lifes are quiet

and reflective, meditative blocks of richly coloured paint. He achieved success early in his career,

exhibiting at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Lagos at 16. His work features in international

collections and he currently resides in New York.

Ibe's work will be shown alongside beautifully‐crafted furniture and rugs that echo the palette and

structure of his paintings, to create a unique and complete living space.

For more press information, please contact Theresa Simon at Theresa Simon & Partners, 020

7734 4800 theresa@theresasimon.com

Listings information

Onyeka Ibe: Interactive Spaces

24 September – 9 November 2013

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 9am – 6pm, Saturday – 9.30am – 6pm

Gallery Elena Shchukina

10 Lees Place, Mayfair, London, W1K 6LL

Telephone: 0207 499 6019

Email: info@galleryelenashchukina.com

Nearest tube stations: Marble Arch, Bond Street

www.galleryelenashchukina.com

Elena Shchukina was born and raised in Siberia. She successfully completed a law degree at

Moscow Law State Academy before deciding to pursue her passion for art and design by studying at

the Moscow Design School. The course involved periods of study in London and at the prestigious

Instituto Marangoni in Milan, where she was inspired to start experimenting with furniture‐making

and painting herself. Part of the course requirement was to create themed environments, proposals

for interiors where all the elements – art, furniture, wall coverings, floors and objects – would come

together to create a harmonious whole. This sparked Elena’s imagination and she began to think

about creating a new kind of gallery, one that, rather than showing art in a traditional ‘white cube’

format, would instead create a living space filled with painting, sculpture, furniture, objets and even

lighting.

Moving to London in 2009, she completed a course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and then began

researching how best to create the new gallery concept. She visited art fairs and degree shows to

discover uplifting work, focusing on artists and makers who show a mastery of their medium, who

create vibrant pieces that bring a room or environment to life. During this research she met royal

portraitist Zohar Israel, with whom she now studies painting. Colour and energy are all‐important to

her and the paintings, objects and furniture that will be displayed at Gallery Elena Schukina will

reflect this infectious verve for living.