International Art project

Baikal-CeraMystica

Russia, lake Baikal, Olkhon island, Khuzhir village

phone in Irkutsk (Russia)

8914-902-2524

June-August 2019

Baikal-CeraMystica is one of the favorite projects of the Ministry of Culture and Archives of the Irkutsk Region. Every year, it is with undisguised interest that we observe how this project develops and how its geographic coverage expands. Today, Baikal-CeraMystica unites artists from Russia, the East, and the West. Folk traditions of these lands, ethnic motifs, original and distinctive cultural and philosophic worldviews are carried by different, yet talented artists – participants of Baikal-CeraMystica. This mix of trends and cultures in general gives the artworks a unique flavor and charm. Every year, it is with pleasure and curiosity, we, the audience, discover new forms of ceramic art – the ancient art, which today has become topical and quite modern once again. We learn about abundant opportunities of this art, which organically merges ethnic traditions and artistic expressiveness. We observe the interconnectedness of ceramics with different materials, architecture, and the landscape environment. In exhibitions, we witness the living and the spiritual, where natural forms become a priority – clouds, trees, rocks, and animals. It is not coincidental, because this project is held in Olkhon Island. Here, we see romantic sensuality and abstraction, philosophic attitude towards the world and symbolism, monumentalism and the depth... Master artists create complex and richly developed forms both with hands and using pottery wheels demonstrating a virtuosic command of the material and technique.

We see that the artistic ceramics of participants of Baikal-CeraMystica is not simply a formality of the process or just a serious mastery of the craft. It demonstrates the highest professional level of talented artists successfully handling a variety of artistic tasks – creating sculptures, decorative compositions, art-objects, and installations.

The value of this project lies not only in the works of its artists. It is also in the master classes that they give to children of the Olkhon District helping them reveal their artistic potential and teaching them not only how to work with clay, but how to see, feel, and think. Moreover, the project’s value is in the exhibitions that project organizers hold in Irkutsk, Angarsk, and Sayansk after each Baikal-CeraMystica Symposium. In this way, they nurture artistic taste in the audience and show the obvious advantage of original artistic ceramics over mass-produced souvenirs. It is also very important and significant that the Russian Ministry of Culture appreciates and supports this project. We are happy that Baikal-CeraMystica was born and is held here, in the Irkutsk Region, at Lake Baikal. We are very proud about it. It means that Russia represented by our region takes part in the global artistic progress.

 

 Sergey Stupin, Deputy Minister of culture of the Irkutsk region