Each of Daniil Antropov's sculptural works is made up of a dizzying array of colors and textures, and they are each unique ecosystem:
The surface of a distant planet, or an instinctive memory solidified in ceramics.
In a sculpture from 2021, charred gray glass drips onto porous ochre clay.
In another image, an orange stem protrudes from a viscous mixture of indigo and moss green.
In his work, Antropov combines traditional ceramics with modern industrial textures.
The construction nets, sticks, soft toys and foam rubber used by the artist are all found in the industrial areas or streets of the metropolis.
Using recycled objects in his creative process, he follows his own philosophy of reinterpreting familiar materials.
Extracting different properties from each material, the artist explores unconventional ways to develop forms and find new ways to interact with the medium.
Multi-layer textures are achieved by burning multiple times.
By placing the glass in a plaster model, he simply guides the creative process rather than controlling it.
Gypsum is burned during firing, while glass and ceramic molds together become a new form, changing from soft to hard.
Discarded items are undergoing rebirth.
Antropov's work is not created as a sculptor's creative form, but as a way for researchers to explore the transformation of matter, which is constantly disintegrating.
The unusual combination of textures and colors is eye-catching, revealing the dialectical relationship between order and chaos.
They are an open system, an emotion, a hymn of beauty that transcends aesthetics and dichotomy.
Antropov has worked on sculpture for over a decade, having exhibited in Moscow, London and Tokyo, and was nominated for the 2020 Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Prize.
In addition, the interest in his work spans the contemporary art world, thanks to the evocative nature of his work, constantly pushing the boundaries of form and material.
"My journey to sculpture began with an academic art education.
After graduation, I don't care about any art anymore; I don't want to paint at all.
After trying a few other things, I remembered my roots:
My father used to do pottery.
I went to Japan, where I completely reconsidered my perception of the craft.
When I moved back to Moscow, I started making ceramics, but I felt that this practical framework was too constructive for me.
That's why I started thinking of myself as an artist."
Ceramics is often considered a practical field rather than a place for experimentation.
But in recent years, a number of emerging Russian artists have adopted it as a medium of choice, including Alina Zolotykh and Apollinaria Broche.
Antropov seems to have an infinite interest in the variables of the medium:
Navigate the chaos and experiment with shapes, both abstract and figurative.
"Sculpture is a shape that you can use indefinitely.
But in ceramic sculpture, material is also a factor, and a person's life is not enough to understand everything about its essence.
Never boring.
Challenges are always there."
Most of his views were formed during this period in Japan.
In Japan, he recognized that "accidents are not accidental.
Beauty doesn't have to be perfect – it's in the eyes of a lover.
Love what you do, do it with love."
BLUE VASE, 2020 H 60 x L 40 x W 40 cm Clay, glaze, glass
WOMAN, 2018 H 30 x L 25 x W 14 cm Clay, glaze, glass, metal mesh
FOUNTAIN, 2019 H 41 x L 33 x W 36 cm Clay, glaze, raku technique
FLOWER 4, 2021 H 37 x W 30 x L 30 cm Clay, glaze, glass
UNTITLED DA, 2021 H 92 x W 25 x L 25 cm Ceramics, glaze, glass
Antropov's experiment means that every work in progress will go through seemingly endless steps and stages.
"At the beginning of my career, I always started with an image in my head.
I'll start the process and it could change drastically.
Now it's different: with 3D rendering or drawing.
Then there's the process itself.
It still doesn't break away from improvisation, but it's more controlled.
First, I make fragile parts, such as flowers, and then I fire them (in a kiln).
Then I glued them to the main shape, let it dry, and then burned again.
Then it is fired five more times at different temperatures."
Even the idea that pottery is made of clay is just another boundary that needs to be broken.
Antropov often incorporates other materials: glass or PU foam.
"The result is on the edge of art, which is very satisfying.
For example, I was surprised to find out that these discarded old windows were painted in the 1960s.
I put the fragment of the painting from the frame onto another sculpture so that after firing it melts and forms a new surface.
I loved the idea of my grandmother painting these windows becoming my collaborator, even though she didn't know it."
DISH, 2021 H 10 x W 37 x L 21 cm Clay, glaze, glass
UNTITLED 3.0, 2019 31 x 15 x 15 cm Clay, glaze
GRID, 2021 H 30 x W 40 x L 21 cm Ceramics, glaze, glass, foam rubber
FLOWER 3, 2021 H 35 x W 35 x L 20 cm Clay, glaze, glass
UNTITLED 2.0, 2020 H 70 x L 40 x W 37 cm Clay, glaze, foam rubber
Antropov, who currently lives in Moscow, said he loves the vibrancy of the Russian capital.
Although his work transcends geography, he plans to continue working in Russia.
"The main disadvantage is that we are on the edge of contemporary art.
The current agenda of the artistic vocabulary is diametrically opposed to that of the Ministry of Culture of Russia.
On the other hand, everything here is inspiring.
In this tragicomedy, life is an artist's dream."
FLOWER 1, 2021 H 32 x W 50 x L 22 cm Clay, glaze, glass
UNTITLED 2.0, 2019 43 x 30 x 30 cm Clay, glaze
HUNTING, 2021 H 48 x W 61 x L 44 cm Ceramics, glaze, tempered glass
FLOWER 2, 2021 H 39 x W 31 x L 31 cm Clay, glaze, glass
UNTITLED 1.0, 2020 H 54 x L 55 x W 40 cm Clay, glaze, glass
Daniil Antropov
Daniel Antlopov
Russian artist
Daniil Antropov was born in Vladivostok in 1991.
Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of The Far Eastern State Institute of Arts (2013, Vladivostok, Russia) and the "MMOMA Free Workshop" of the Moscow Institute of Modern Art (2018).
In 2012 Antropov traveled to Japan to learn pottery from different pottery masters.
He now lives and works in Moscow.
MIRRORS, TRIPTYCH, 2021 ceramics, glaze, glass, mirror 55 x 37 , 45 x 37 , 40 x 37 cm unique piece
UNTITLED 1.0 DA, 2021 H 76 x W 28 x L 35 cm Ceramics, glaze, tempered glass
PAIR OF FOAM RUBBER, 2020 H 30 x L 26 x W 12 cm H 10 x L 34 x W 12 cm Glaze, foam
UNTITLED 1.0, 2019 H 23 x D 26 cm Clay, glaze, foam rubber
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Birdman & Fish Finishing Editor