Regina Gallery is pleased to present Rain Theorem, the first solo exhibition at Regina Gallery by Alexey Kallima. Kallima is the author of monumental fresco-style compositions that represent a synthesis of traditional Soviet art with graffiti. For his work, Chechen history, mythological images and sports are all interlaced to create figurative paintings which show the influence of the graphics of Francisco Goya.
‘Rain Theorem’ is a large-scale installation made of fluorescent inks. It represents a crowded stadium in the center of which appear visitors to the exhibition. Themes around the game of football have interested the artist for a long time. Kallima developed his initial ideas in the large-scale fantasy works ‘Terek vs. Terek’ and ‘Terek vs. Chelsea’ (2006). Creating ‘Rain Theorem’ he decided to give visitors the role of players. For Kallima, a football match is a model of the situation in which he explores the will of nature, and laws of human perception and behaviour. The artist plays with the imagination of the viewer. Upon entering the gallery, viewers are presented with an illuminated but empty space. At first glance they are surrounded only by a white banner. A motion-sensor is triggered, however, plunging everything into darkness and the light of a UV lamp turns the forty-meter canvas into a tribune of raging fans. The match begins. Each “period” lasts only forty seconds, after which the game becomes a ghostly vision again in a white room.
The title of the work, Rain Theorem, refers to chaos theory, to the impossibility of predicting events and the challenge of determining the development of natural phenomena cannot be solved. They are also caused by an accident, as the result of a sporting competition. The final of the game between Kallima and the audience is unpredictable as the rain theorem cannot be solved. The outcome of the match depends on everyone who is at the center of the imaginary field.
‘Rain Theorem’ was firstly shown at the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2009, and featured in the large-scale exhibition ‘Audience As Subject, Part 2’ at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco, in 2012.
