Group PPSS (Pavel Pepperstein, Sonya Stereostyrsky)

The PPSS art group is a duet of Pavel Pepperstein and Sonya Stereostyrsky. The artists work in the framework of the direction of "psychedelic realism". Their works are filled with recognisable cultural patterns and clever commentaries, links to surrealism, Malevich's Suprematist models, oriental watercolours, pop art, book illustrations, as well as political caricature. Pop culture with symbols and idols of different generations is transformed in their works into a multifaceted metaphor about the condition of today's world and its society.

Pavel Pepperstein is a Russian artist, writer, critic, art theorist, fashion designer and even a rap singer. He was born in 1966 in the family of Moscow conceptualist Viktor Pivovarov and writer Irina Pivovarova. From 1985 to 1987 he studied in the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In 1987, together with the artists Sergei Anufriev and Yuri Leiderman, he founded the group Inspection Medical Hermeneutics, which existed until 2001. Pepperstein is the creator and ideologist of the trend "psychedelic realism". His works mix recognisable cultural patterns and witty commentary, and are filled with references to Surrealism, Malevich's Suprematist models, oriental watercolours, Pop Art, book illustrations and political caricatures. Pepperstein has had over 100 personal and group exhibitions in Russia and abroad during his artistic career. He has participated in major biennales of contemporary art: the International Biennale of São Paulo (2004), the Venice Biennale (2009), and Manifesta (2014). In 2014 he won the Kandinsky Prize in the main category "Project of the Year". The artist's works can be seen in the collections of the Russian Museum (St Petersburg), Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf), as well as in private collections all around the world.

Sonya Stereostyrski is a multimedia artist. She is engaged in contemporary art, painting, easel graphics, video installations, AR (augmented reality), video art and author's computer animation. She was born in 1998 in Moscow. In 2018 she graduated from the Faculty of Painting of KKTiM VGIK. In 2022 she finished her bachelor's degree at the School of Design of the National Research University Higher School of Economics in the field of Multimedia. In 2020, together with Pavel Pepperstein, she founded the PPSS art group, in which she is currently working actively.

In 2021-2023, the art group PPSS created the film "White Noise", in which Sonya Stereostyrski and Pavel Pepperstein acted as directors and played the main roles. The premiere of the film took place in the VLADEY space as part of the artists' personal exhibition "ZIKKURATY". The art group's works are included in the collection of the AZ Museum.