Cyril and Marina Rakhmatullin are an incredibly talented union of sculptors from Russia.
When creating works, they use completely different materials (bronze, gypsum, clay, granite, wood, stucco, marble and others), which makes each sculpture unique and unique.

May 16 at POP UP MUSEUM opened an exhibition of Cyril and Marina Rakhmatullin “Go LesOmm”.
The editors of "Above Art" met with Cyril and Marina to learn about the exhibition and their work.

Above Art:
Tell us a little about yourself. How did you start your career?

Kirill:
Marina and I graduated from the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov. I was very lucky that my leader at the institute was the famous sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov.


Marina:
And I also studied with a very famous sculptor M.V. Pereyaslavtsa. I would say that learning from different, but such talented masters, helped bring a different vision to our work.
Before the Surikov Institute, we also studied at the Abramtsevo Art and Industrial College named after V.M. Vasnetsova, where I mastered the profession of "artist woodcarver."


Kirill:
Marina and I were very lucky with the teachers at both the institute and the Abramtsevo College, we always came to the great masters of our craft, of our time.
The beginning of professional activity can be considered as an apprentice with the leading sculptors of Moscow.
In 2010, an important event happened for both of us: we built our common workshop “The Rakhmatullins Sculpture House” in which we work to this day.
Many thanks to our friends for the sculptors who helped us master this construction, because for the sculptor the workshop is his home.

Above Art:
Most of your work is surreal, where do you get stories for them?


Kirill:
Many motifs and stories come on time or after travel. In addition to sculpture, we travel quite a lot. Tourism is our passion. In this regard, the nature of Karelia is simply a storehouse of various images, as well as travels to Asian countries, whose culture and traditions have influenced our work. On trips, we make sketches and photograph a lot of nature and monuments of past eras, which, returning home, allows us to create something new based on these impressions.

Marina:
I am interested in yoga, oriental and Slavic spiritual practices. A lot of ideas for compositions came to me during meditations or in the process of performing various exercises. Also, let's not forget that no one has canceled the work. Imagination in creativity is the same tool as a hand or foot that requires training. I am constantly learning to invent and am constantly in search of motives for my sculptures.

Above Art:
What difficulties do you encounter when creating work?

Marina:
The biggest difficulty in making creative work is the lack of time. It would seem that the artist is a creative profession, assuming a free work schedule and lack of bosses - I want to work, I want to, no, and other associations. But in reality, things are different.
Making a sculpture is a very time-consuming process, requiring a lot of attention, and materials are expensive. Adequate funding is needed to implement the planned projects.

Kirill:
In order to receive financing, we carry out various sculptures and monuments to order, train those who wish our profession, and promote our workshop on the Internet. All this activity takes a lot of energy, but it is inevitable if we want to engage in creativity.

Marina:
Ideally, I would like to live and create completely on the funds from the sale of my work, without being distracted by custom work. But this is what we are only striving for.

Above Art:
How painstaking is this work to create sculptures and how much time does it take to create one work?

Kirill:
Sculpture is a very laborious and time consuming undertaking. Of course, there are “quick jobs”, but it takes months to make them. The work of the sculptor is almost impossible to automate. Clay and wax have remained the same since the time of Michelangelo. Perhaps, only the appearance of an electric tool slightly eased the work of sculptors.

Marina:
In the manufacture of bronze sculptures, the author recreates it three times. The first time in a soft material (clay or clay), after which the work is destroyed in the process of removing forms. Then the sculptor re-creates his work by casting wax (as is necessary according to the technology of casting from bronze) during the casting process the wax model is also lost. The third time, the sculptor creates his work by finishing and modifying it after the ebb of bronze.
How difficult it is to do each job three times - judge for yourself.

Above Art:
What are your future plans, what projects can you expect from you?

Marina:
Oh yeah. We are already preparing a new project, the working title "Mythology".
Studying various cultures, we were surprised how ancient myths affect the art and development of society as a whole. On a system of moods and values ​​that prevail in a particular country.
All these studies have aroused our interest in the myths, legends and legends of our country. On the basis of Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Turkic myths, the concept of a new exhibition is built.

Kirill:
In addition, the study of ancient myths led us to reflect on what they are, the myths of modern man? It is very interesting to create these works, since we have to study a lot of material along the way.
I am sure that the spectator who came to our exhibition will not leave indifferent.

Above Art