ALEXANDER ISKIN
HISTORY REVERSE

We live in two realities today: one physical and one virtual. The “interrealism” proclaimed by Iskin examines the space between them. The fundamental change consists of the fact that we used to live in only a single reality, but today this is overlaid by a second one. The in-between, the “inter-reality,” names the point of departure and object of reflection for Iskin's works. His rotation images have neither a top nor a bottom, so that viewers ultimately choose their own version of reality; there is no hierarchy whatsoever. Drawn to the moment between the images of a movie reel, Iskin paints his pictures from all sides.

© Image by Oscar Aguilar 

The painting process is accompanied by spontaneous gestures, which arise by chance and cannot be predetermined. In this respect, the images themselves become actors. Everyone knows Picasso's dictum: “I don't look, I find.” Iskin is also surprised by his pictures, something that viewers can recognize as a new metamorphosis with every turn. It would be an exaggeration to say that the pictures paint themselves, but Iskin doesn't paint them alone; they arise in an in-between state, in inter-reality.

When Iskin speaks of upheaval, one also thinks of the disruptions of modernity in the context of art. A century ago, an abstract picture was painted for the first time, atonal music was composed, the literary stream of consciousness was unleashed – the figural was crushed, tonality dissolved, the narrator killed off – revolutionary acts of liberation. Half a century later, postmodernism again dismantled modernity's claim to totality.

Iskin sees the virtual world as a danger because it threatens to become overpowering and create new hierarchies. He uses the classic medium of painting to criticize this new reality. His pictures do not deny their origins: the experiences of modernism, expressionism, and cubism.

Iskin also draws his inspiration from his immediate surroundings. The Ahuehuete trees (Montezuma cypress), which are often found in Mexico City, are connected to the groundwater with their deep roots and have been for centuries. Each tree feeds on this precious resource, which gives life and retains a strong connection to the past and the environment. Similar to the Ahuehuete, Iskin's visual language absorbs the past, emancipates itself from it, and continues to grow.

Iskin is also influenced by the incessant earthquakes in Mexico. For him, the tectonic plate shifts reflect the current global situation, characterised by shifts and transformations, shuddering his inner world. The dance of the tectonic plates and their reciprocal relationship are translated into a painterly effect that constantly produces new forms and energies in Iskin’s pictures.

In HISTORY REVERSE, the classical paintings form the visual framework of the exhibition, while the small-format works, such as the wooden pieces, serve as connecting elements that visually link the larger works and series. For the smaller works, Iskin was inspired by hummingbirds, which often play an important role in myths and legends as messengers or companions of the gods. Like these gliding birds, these works appear to "fly" through space.

Iskin strives for a harmonious interplay of multiple perspectives, fragments, and realities. There is something deeply constructive, positive, humane, and humorous about his interrealism and painting. His pictorial worlds continually reinterpret the past and present as a means to influence the future. HISTORY REVERSE is an ode, a confession, and a romantic, playful devotion to the plurality of worlds and epochs.