ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE

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1 ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE

2 Daniel Maurer, Assistant to Elena Mildner, at artist s Vienna studio

ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE 198 Davenport Rd, Toronto ON M5R 1J2 Canada I 416.

3 ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE 198 Davenport Rd, Toronto ON M5R 1J2 Canada I or I info@odonwagnergallery.com odonwagnergallery.com

ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE For Elena Mildner, art is the release of creative energy, figuratively put in motion in a spatial, temporal and cultural dimension.

4 ELENA MILDNER LIVE DRIVE For Elena Mildner, art is the release of creative energy, figuratively put in motion in a spatial, temporal and cultural dimension. Art does not take place in the Salon where it is readily reduced to its aesthetic function. Revolutionary changes originate in artistic subcultures where new movements in art are radically expressed. It is in the street culture of rappers, graffiti artists and skateboarders where Mildner finds this original creative potential. In particular, the great speed, elegance and fearlessness of the skaterboaders impart a pure and decisive strength on Mildner. Art and action are life principles: Live Drives. The concept of action is strongly anchored in Viennese art history. In the early 1960 s, the Viennese Aktion artists declared traditional painting for dead. The human body per se became the artistic medium, and momentary action endured through photographic documentation. In the making of Mildner s pictures, it is her own energy that the skaters translate, amplify and apply to the surface of the canvas. This method of performance replaces the act of painting. A final image is created and outlives the process of action. Similar artistic approaches can be observed in the work of the Japanese Gutai Group, as well as Herman Nitsch and others. Mildner s assistants, such as Daniel Maurer and Mischa Bartos, are the connection to the street. They drive pictures pursuant to Mildner s compositional guidelines and thereby leave lines of their own choreography. The canvas replaces the function of paved road. Colours and rolls on the canvas trace the movements of the skateboard and are forever fixed in place. Music is a critical force in the development process of Mildner s Live Music / Live Drive pictures. Rap is the music of the street, pure in rhythm, a monologue of intensive power. Mildner studied jazz vocals. She mixes and varies the complex melodious structure of jazz with rap and achieves an ideal musical synthesis, translating the language of skating into a language of painting. Culture defines itself through language and writing. The tracks of a skateboard leave a unique calligraphy of the body. More intense than the act of writing, the skateboard s impressions on the canvas reveal the inner feelings and mood of the skater. Unwittingly, he lays bare his innermost being. It is a universally valid form of expression that destroys language barriers and permits no misunderstanding, but provides the freedom of individual interpretation. Mildner grew-up on the Russian shores of the Bering Strait during the political and social tumultuous glasnost era. She spent her childhood by a bay on the sea, where the tides, Northern Lights and arctic hues made their early mark on her artistic expression. The tundra was her father s working ground, a vast and sparsely populated land where he provided services as a medical doctor. He used an abandoned army tank to follow the trails of the nomads. For Mildner, colours and tracks have become synonymous with space and time. Mag. ANGELIKA ROMAUCH Translated from the German by Rafael Wagner 1 MAGIC DRIVE acrylic on canvas, 47 x 60 in. / 119 x 152 cm

6 2 BLACK IS NOT SAD acrylic on canvas, 58 x 36 in. / 148 x 91 cm 3 LABYRINTH acrylic on canvas, 58 x 58 in. / 148 x 148 cm

8 4 HELLO TORONTO acrylic on canvas, 118 x 59 in. / 300 x 150 cm

10 5 YELLOW CALLIGRAPHY acrylic on canvas, 44 x 58 in. / 111 x 148 cm

11 6 CLASSIC MARINA acrylic on canvas, 44x 58 in. / 111 x 148 cm

12 7 BLACK ACADEMY acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 in. / 152 x 91 cm

13 8 UNIQUE SIGN IN GREEN acrylic on canvas, 58 x 36 in. / 148 x 91 cm

14 WIENER KAISER MELANGE (Kaiser s Viennese Blend) acrylic on canvas, 96 x 60 in. / 244 x 152 cm 9

16 10 BLACK & YELLOW acrylic on canvas 70 x 59 in. / 178 x 150 cm

17 11 WURMLOCH (WORMHOLE) acrylic on canvas 72 x 58 in. / 183 x 148 cm

18 12 LUE-BLUE acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 in. / 152 x 91 cm

19 FLOWER VIBRATION acrylic on canvas, 58 x 36 in. / 148 x 91 cm 13

20 14 SK8BOARD POWER acrylic on canvas, 58 x 36 in. / 148 x 91 cm

21 15 7 UP & DOWN acrylic on canvas, 73x 59 in. / 185 x 150 cm

22 BIOGRAPHY Elena Mildner was born in Provideniya, near the Bering Sea, Russia. Since 1991 she has lived and worked in Vienna, Austria, most recently creating skateboard paintings, including the new series LIVE DRIVE with the assistance of Daniel Maurer. EDUCATION Narodnij University of Art in Moscow, Russia Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow, Russia Gnessin State Musical College, Vocal, Jazz Improvisation, Moscow, Russia SELECTED SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS Elena Mildner in her Vienna studio 2015 Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Canada 2014 Art Toronto, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Canada Culture Xchange Center, Burggasse 21, Vienna, Austria 2013 Schloss Limberg, Limberg, Lower Austria 2012 Culture Xchange Center, Burggasse 21, Vienna, Austria rd World Newspaper Congress, Vienna, Austria 2010 Gallery Fotoworld, Monaco International Fine Art Fair, Salzburg, Austria Rudolf Budja Galerie, Salzburg, Austria Art Monaco, Monaco International Video Art Limousine Festival, London, England Month of Photography, Vienna, Austria 2008 National Center for Contemporary Arts of Moscow, Vienna, Austria 2007 Millionaire Fair, Moscow, Russia Artplay, Moscow, Russia & Burggasse 21, Vienna, Austria 2004 Photo Biennale, Vienna, Austria Design Fair, Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts), Vienna, Austria MoMA in Berlin, Berlin, Germany Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), Berlin, Germany Österreichisches Museum für Volkskunde, Vienna, Austria nd Internationale Art Fair, Vienna, Austria Front Cover: BRUSH VII (action shot) Opposite: HELLO TORONTO (detail) Back Cover: WELCOME TO LIFE, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 60 in. CREDITS CURATORIAL LAYOUT DESIGN PRINTING Odon Wagner, Rafael Wagner, Caitlin McCullough Caitlin McCullough Angela Wagner Solisco Québec For all works in exhibition, please visit odonwagnergallery.com 198 Davenport Rd, Toronto ON M5R 1J2 Canada I or I info@odonwagnergallery.com odonwagnergallery.com ISBN: National Library of Canada Elena Mildner - Live Drive Copyright: Odon Wagner Gallery, MMXV

23 With the generous support of the

172 Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada or PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE

Qi 172 Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada 416.962.0438 or 800.551.2465 www.odonwagnergallery.com PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE Qi PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE November 1 - November 24, 2007 172 Davenport Road,