NY Studio Gallery is pleased to present Birds and Bees, a solo exhibition by Russian-born American artist Yuliya Lanina. Employing grotesque imagery to simultaneously elicit feelings of uneasiness and empathy, Lanina paints and collages bizarre characters that come to life through mechanization, animation, and music.

Lanina’s characters, mostly female in gender, are made of parts that are not supposed to go together. They act out absurd situations in a somewhat blasé, carefree and humorous manner. These characters are the artist’s own projections of nonsensical events and their consequences. Their malformed features and parts illustrate internalized trauma and torment while still engaging in the life-affirming celebration of feminine power and its connection to the mysterious, the beautiful, and the sensual. Their grotesque nature represents the complexity of the human character, which is at once bewildering, perplexing and fascinating.

The scenarios acted out by Lanina’s characters reference various subconscious myths and tales that are repeated and reinterpreted across cultures and generations. Lanina frequently taps into Greek mythology, where half human and half animal or bird creatures act out fables. The artist is also influenced by Russian fairy tales, which are filled with fantastic beings and deeply rooted in paganism, mysticism, and symbolism. Lanina’s interbred creatures play the roles of witnesses and mentors to merge fantasy, dreams, theater and reality in order to illustrate human experience, which is neither linear nor straightforward.

Performance by C. Eule Dance Friday April 15; 7pm and Saturday May 7; 7pm* C. Eule Dance is a New York City-based modern dance company fusing classical modern dance, ballet, gymnastics, and traditional dances from around the globe.

About Yuliya Lanina* Yuliya Lanina is a Russian-born American artist based in New York City. Lanina has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. Her work has been displayed at the Beijing Biennial 2009, SIGGRAPH Asia 2009, Seoul International Media Art Biennial 2008, Seoul Art Museum, Russian Contemporary Art Museum, Ludwig Museum and other venues. Yuliya’s most recent solo exhibitions include: Patrick Heide Contemporary Art (London, UK), Elements Gallery (Perth, Australia), Sara Nightingale Gallery (Sag Harbor, NY). She has been a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships and holds an MFA from Hunter College New York

About NY Studio Gallery NY Studio Gallery combines exhibition and workspace to create an atmosphere of interaction, collaboration and integration of media, styles and artistic genres for US and international artists.