Andrey Bartenev

Who is Andrey Bartenev?

Andrey Bartenev is a Russian artist, sculptor, experimentalist, and creator of many provocative, interactive installations and performances. He was born in 1969 in Norilsk, Russia.

He operates in an interdisciplinary field. "Art for me is a single current," he has said, "and I don't care what forms it takes." His work can't be confused with anyone else's. Examples are his papier-mâché "eight-legged dog for high-speed transportation;" his performance “Black Caviar Road” – a line of Russians black caviar cans with car tires rolling by; and his sound installation "Say: I love you" which uses a computer to transform those three words into an echo bouncing through two hundred speakers.

Bartenev creates absurd, whimsical, racy, provocative, carnival fantasias. They are inspired by the mythology of art, by the dreams of scientists, by porno-anime. The artist, in his wild costumes and makeup, is an art-object himself. In this way Bartenev continues and develops the ideas of Russian Futurism.

At the crest of Russia’s wave of radical Sots Art, Bartenev was invited to bring his performances all over Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Austria, and France.