11CAC is pleased to present a special exhibition “Embrace Me In My Arms”, featuring the latest works of young Russian contemporary artist Jenya Datsko and 11CAC’s selected classical oil paintings, which will officially open on December 23, 2023.
This exhibition is a journey through time that honors the power of women. It shows the transformation of women in different eras and cultures, presenting the richness of women’s inner spirit, and hoping to guide viewers to explore and feel the growth and thread of women’s independence and self-awareness, as well as the unique charm that time has given them, to reflect on the importance of women discovering their true selves.
In the classical oil paintings with female images as the theme, the protagonists in the paintings exude a gentle, tranquil, romantic and distant temperament. This soft expression reflects people’s preference for female images when the male perspective is absolutely dominant. Women are expected and demanded to be gentle and virtuous, pure and innocent, and needing to be sheltered at all times.
From the elegance and the purity of women in classical paintings to the picture queness and the tenacity of contemporary young women in Jenya Datsko’s works, this value recognition of female subjectivity has witnessed the general awakening of female consciousness over the past centuries. Women’s recognition of their own subjectivity has enabled them to step out of the historical and social scripts, to break the rules, to explore more possibilities, and to establish their own broad and inclusive world and new order. Femininity in classical works and the sense of power in contemporary art coexist in women, rather than a single label. In the face of different environments, the multifaceted nature and flexibility of women allow them to have the ability to love people and themselves, and to maintain a strong vitality.
The “Embrace” in Datsko’s work is a gesture that conveys more love and power than a kiss, and we don't even have to ask for it, we can give ourselves the warmest and firmest embrace whenever and wherever we want; just like the very first female painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, who appeared after the long dark Middle Ages, was drawing herself with her hand in her first “self-portrait”, and from then on, she painted an extraor-dinary life. We could see the most important moments of a woman's life hundreds of years ago in classical portraits as well as the most relaxed moment of women today in the paintings of young artist Jenya Datsko.
Now, when we have the honor to stop at the works of centuries ago, recalling the real scenes, imagining the stories of these women from hundreds of years ago, and imagining the surroun-dings as seen by their clear eyes, could we think about the great changes behind it? In the same way, will women in a few hundred years later also stay in front of Datsko's works and empathize with us today?
