Swarovski in Contemporary Art With Everything Turned Upside Down
- Alexander Anisimov
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Breakdown of all stereotypes, this is how the works of Alexander Anisimov, collector, artist and designer, devoted his lifetime to High Art, are characterized. His constantly used statement about finding and working only with geniuses finds its confirmation in the works exhibited as part of his private collection. The amazing ability to identify genius in an artist, to select the best of his work, is translated into the unique artworks of his workshops, where unconventional materials are used to make artistic images. These are the finest threads of silk for embroidery, capable of conveying watercolor smudges, and inlaying precious woods, hand finishing art print and combining it with Swarovski crystals and 24K gold leaf.
Swarovski ifinds a home in high art
Swarovski crystals are used to decorate everything. From fashion world, to furniture ornamentation. Alexander's Collection gallery has decided to read this decorative material, combining it with unique and one-of-a-kind works of graphics, turned into large decorative panoramas.
From black and white graphics and crystals as black diamonds to snow-white pearls. A scattering of tiny crystals gathers into a single picture, creating an effect similar to impressionist paintings.
If we stand very near to the artwork, we see nothing but dots and shapeless structures assembled from them, the artist applies crystals of different sizes over them, giving an illusion of chaos on the surface. Similarly, with impressionists, we see nothing but endless strokes of paints.
But it is worth to step back at a distance and true metamorphoses are revealed in front of us, the chaos is scattered and formed into a complete composition, forcing the viewer to step back even further in the hope to see the magic and feel the artwork to perfection. A work of art of the highest caliber is actually being made.
As a base, the artist takes a special paper, print on it and then the design is manually finished with black ink.
It is Fine Art Matt Paper, smooth texture. Hahnemuhle Museum Etching is an exceptional 350 gsm weight paper, smooth textured, natural white, 100% cotton pulp, acid free, specially designed for art reproduction and exceptional saturation and D-max.
Giclée prints can provide virtually perfect color reproduction in a long lasting format. It is as close to the real thing as you're likely to find — and at a much lower cost than the genuine article. For artists, fine art prints are an important way to make a living.
Giclee prints are typically more expensive than other types of prints because they are produced using specialized equipment and materials and require a high level of technical skill and expertise to produce accurately and consistently.
A high quality archival giclee the same size as your original can be valued at 1/3rd of the cost of the original. Giclée prints hold their colour and value for much longer than regular prints. In fact, they are known to last approximately 200 years before they start to fade. They are museum-quality prints that are built to last.
Here comes the ultimate face-off between giclee prints and lithographs, as both have high value. Starting with giclee, it is valued higher due to the use of high-resolution inkjet printers in the creation of the artwork.
Giclee prints are more long-lasting and durable as compared to lithographs.
Contrary to what some might think, reproducing artwork will not decrease the value of an original. In fact, giclée prints can actually increase the value of an original. Also because of the high quality, these prints can often increase in value over time.
After receiving the initial design, the painstaking work of fixing Swarovski crystals begins in strict compliance with the artist's idea. It sometimes takes months of time, but the effect resulting exceeds all expectations.
Swarovski in contemporary art. Digital Universe Collection
The collection consists of three works made in collaboration with the artist Inna Bagaeva, the author of the idea as a collaboration of two artists, a rare marriage of the two artists' work simultaneously.
'Digital Universe', the very first work of the collection. A massive canvas of 100 x 198 centimeters. Thousands of crystals, thousands of stars, gathering into galaxies, forming a star scan and the web of the universe. Humanity flies through this space chaos towards other civilizations. The design of dots and dashes is like a digital message to eternity.
'Matrix', the second work made as reverse work in graphics. The Matrix theory is embodied in the artist's reinterpretation of the image. The matrix world, shaky and barely perceptible, is scattered into numerous images. Thousands of pearls of different sizes are fixed on the surface of the artwork, adding to 3D effect of the image and play of lights reflection from nacre.
'Life', the final work in the series symbolizes the birth of life in the Universe.
Swarovski in contemporary art.