WORDS WILL COME. ARTISANAL PRACTICES.
September 5 — November 16, 2025
MOX space
MOX space
Words Will Come. Artisanal Practices is an exhibition presented by Flor et Lavr Gallery and the MOX design bureau. The project brings together Matvey Shapiro, Elya Vinokurova, Oleg Savunov, Tatyana Podmarkova, Artem Lyapin, Alexander Pozin, and Marina Spivak – artists for whom mastery is not only a technical category but the foundation of an artistic method. Their works unite intellectual depth with precision of execution, turning the engagement with material into a mode of thought. Curated by Frol Burimskiy.
In the exhibition, Matvey Shapiro’s wooden objects coexist with his graphic compositions based on Uzbek proverbs, where text transforms into abstract geometry. His work Words Will Come points to the idea that interpretation always belongs to the viewer. At the same time, wood, paper, and fabric enter into dialogue with Elya Vinokurova, presented by the gallery for the first time. Her intricate embroidery and stitching become a material equivalent of a patient engagement with the language of heritage.
In the exhibition, Matvey Shapiro’s wooden objects coexist with his graphic compositions based on Uzbek proverbs, where text transforms into abstract geometry. His work Words Will Come points to the idea that interpretation always belongs to the viewer. At the same time, wood, paper, and fabric enter into dialogue with Elya Vinokurova, presented by the gallery for the first time. Her intricate embroidery and stitching become a material equivalent of a patient engagement with the language of heritage.
Oleg Savunov’s photographic series Blind Spot explores the limits of visual perception by creating illusory staged scenes. His images are built around reflective fabric placed within the landscape as a blinding rectangle – appearing at once as a digital insertion and as a physical object. Here, mastery lies in the ability to merge the illusory with the material, making the viewer doubt what they see.
The theme of hidden force and duality is also central to Tatyana Podmarkova. In her new series, the motif of poisonous flowers fuses decorativeness with menace: a found image of oleander from an old botanical atlas becomes the basis for large-scale canvases, where textured materials and bandages create the effect of an ancient, fossilized surface. Beauty turns into unease, and the alluring charm of nature becomes a reminder of its destructive side.
The theme of hidden force and duality is also central to Tatyana Podmarkova. In her new series, the motif of poisonous flowers fuses decorativeness with menace: a found image of oleander from an old botanical atlas becomes the basis for large-scale canvases, where textured materials and bandages create the effect of an ancient, fossilized surface. Beauty turns into unease, and the alluring charm of nature becomes a reminder of its destructive side.
Artem Lyapin turns to techniques rooted in historical practices – from lace-making to carpet weaving – creating works in which ancient forms of manual labor are transformed into contemporary artistic statements. His series The House That Ate Itself addresses the disappearance of rural life, weaving together direct observation and personal encounters in the village of Bolshie Shatnovichi with the allegorical story of a solitary stork, transformed into a metaphor of loss and loneliness.
The project concludes with sculptures by Alexander Pozin and Marina Spivak. Their long-standing work with bronze, marble, and granite has shaped a distinctive sculptural language recognizable both in the Russian and international contexts. Their presence in the exhibition underscores continuity and the enduring significance of material experience, where mastery emerges not as craft but as a language capable of conveying profound meaning.
Words Will Come. Artisanal Practices becomes a space of encounter between diverse media and approaches, where wood, fabric, stone, photography, and painting are equal carriers of ideas. The project shows that in contemporary art, the union of concept and precision of execution gives rise to works of persuasiveness and power.
The project concludes with sculptures by Alexander Pozin and Marina Spivak. Their long-standing work with bronze, marble, and granite has shaped a distinctive sculptural language recognizable both in the Russian and international contexts. Their presence in the exhibition underscores continuity and the enduring significance of material experience, where mastery emerges not as craft but as a language capable of conveying profound meaning.
Words Will Come. Artisanal Practices becomes a space of encounter between diverse media and approaches, where wood, fabric, stone, photography, and painting are equal carriers of ideas. The project shows that in contemporary art, the union of concept and precision of execution gives rise to works of persuasiveness and power.