Vadim
Kondakov

Vadim Kondakov (b. 1990, Tatarstan) graduated from the Fechin Art College in Kazan, the Stieglitz Art Academy and the PRO ARTE Foundation’s School for Young Artists in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

In his work with metal, Kondakov observes how, despite industrial processing of this element by humans, it cuts its way back to nature through corrosion and decay. In his sculptures, Kondakov uses water to inform metal constructions with new, expanded forms. This encounter further develops in his graphic art — by transferring the oxide film created by interaction of these components to other surfaces, such as paper or textile. Reminiscent of landscapes, these rusty prints tend to go beyond the limits of two-dimensional graphics, endued with sculptural qualities. 

Metal, water, textile, all having different material qualities, share a common sense of flow, ultimately pointing to the flow of time that informs them with change. In his practice, the artist points the direction to this process and then just stays observing, while the main protagonist being a non-human agent, a natural element.