In St. Petersburg, 26 November to 5 December 2021, The first, what promises to become an annual exhibition of Aydolls - Continuing Tradition and Modernity - took place.

The event was organised by the Bridges puppet artists' association. The exhibition featured works by artists from St Petersburg, Moscow, Cherepovets, Vladivostok, Murmansk... and even Germany, which makes it an 'international' event. More than 80 exhibits decorated the space of the Gallery "Centre for Books and Graphics" on Liteiny, 55.

The idea for the exhibition came about at a difficult time. Acting against the prevailing circumstances, the organisers, Valeria Korsakova and Olga Bakaleeva, created an interesting exhibition project. The exhibition featured dolls, sculptures and figurative art objects.
The exhibition introduced the viewer to contemporary techniques and materials in the art of author dolls.
For many of the authors, the exhibition was their debut.

The Bridges association dates back to 2006.

But it is now 2021 that the Union's 'signature' exhibition, Idoll, has emerged.
"Idol" continues the traditions of the old St. Petersburg school, organically incorporating new technologies and solutions into the world of art dolls. First and foremost, it is the gallery organisation of the space and the presentation of the work in the exhibition.

The space was divided into two locations: 'The Workshop' and 'The City'.

The workshop was dedicated to Roman Shustrov, a St Petersburg sculptor and puppeteer who passed away prematurely. The 'location' design featured black and white, graphic 'quotations' of the artist's studio space.
The dolls here, as in any workshop, are live participants in the creative process.
The 'City' space was formed by screens imitating the contours of St Petersburg's houses and roofs.

The opening was attended by well known people in the puppet world: puppet authors, theatre artists, collectors and gallery owners.

Christmas tree decorations (by Anna Kobzeva, Marina Pavlova and Alisa Velikina) were part of the exhibition. Next to them there were dolls (by Oksana Nayanzina, Margarita Ryabchenko, Maria Gaugau, Zinaida Abagyan, Olga Shabalina), wall-hung puppet compositions (Ksenia Mikheeva, Victoria Rubtsova).

The work of Natalia Korzhueva, an artist from the town of Safonovo, made of Flumo cold porcelain, deserves a special mention. The composition of three costume dolls is created with a high ethnographic accuracy.

We hope that the Idoll exhibition will become an anticipated annual an event in the world of author dolls. And we will have the opportunity to witness the birth of new names and interesting artistic projects.

Material prepared Valeria Korsakova

Photo: Olga Kudryavtseva