The hero of our interview is the talented artist and jeweler Vadim Krasukov – a participant in the project "Subcultural Landscape", finalist of the "Image of Form" and GLOBAL DESIGN GRADUATE SHOW competitions. We talked about crocheting from wires, the revival of Russian lubok traditions, sources of inspiration and creative plans.
When did you decide to become an artist and where did you study?
As a child I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer because my mother sews, and I was always at the center of all that fabric. I was very attracted to old manual sewing machines and drew lots of clothing, but later I moved away from that. In high school I considered getting an architectural education. Now it seems to me that the idea of applying to an architecture school may have been connected with the limited choice of institutes in my native Volgograd. In the summer after ninth grade my family and I went to Saint Petersburg, and I realized I wanted to study in that city. At that time I still thought of becoming an architect, but then I met the teachers of the department of artistic metalworking at the Stieglitz Academy, and they inspired me to apply to them. I immediately liked the "metal" department: great artists teach there and it has high-class workshops.
Vadim Krasukov: self-portrait
How did you come to the idea of combining crochet and jewelry?
During the lockdown, like many artist-jewelers, I was doing experimental things that don't require a workshop. I started making jewelry from whatever was at hand: wood, rubber, washers… Then I went to Volgograd for the summer holidays and saw a bright skein of colored wires at home. My mother had taken them from work and wanted to use them for household purposes — to tie and wrap things. I became interested in working with this new material; I remembered the crochet skills I once learned at a children's club and decided to crochet something from the wires. Initially I stripped the insulation and crocheted from bare wire, but I didn't like the result, so I began to crochet from insulated wires. Later I supplemented the jewelry with metal settings and experimented: at first I made small rings, and then moved on to working with larger forms.
What materials do you like to work with?
My favorite material is metal, because I know a lot about it and know how to work with it. Basic knowledge allows experimentation. But wires have also become mine — I appropriated them. In general I like very different materials, including enamel and wood. At some point it seemed interesting to combine metal with something non-trivial — for example, to add a ready-made plastic part found in a garage to a piece. I love interesting material junctions, their mutual complementation and combinations.
Tell us about the jewelry from the "Symbionts" series and the project dedicated to Russian lubok?
"Symbionts" was the first project created from wires. The concept is that people in all spheres of life use form-making methods borrowed from nature. We observe how stalactites form or how a spider weaves a web, and we use this in art, architecture, design and even medicine. So I decided to imagine the reverse process. What would happen if nature borrowed the human technology of crocheting but created natural, free, non-anthropogenic forms? The first massive piece was the bracelet "Symbiont-1". I crocheted it without knowing what the result would be, because it was conceived as quite large and complex in shape. Then necklaces and several rings appeared. Later I scaled this theme, made it my diploma project and entered it in various competitions.
Collection "Symbionts"
The project dedicated to lubok is also conceptual. I generally love lubok and consider it the seed of Russian pop culture. The influence of Russian lubok can still be traced in caricature, but for some reason the movement itself, unlike American and Japanese pop culture, did not develop further. I decided to make a series of collectible metal figurines and to reflect on how the characters of old luboks would look today if they were heroes of comics or computer games. The project is currently on pause, but I will definitely continue it. I have many ideas, sketches and developments.
"Baba Yaga rides a pig to fight a crocodile"
Which creative projects are especially valuable to you?
One such project was "Subcultural Landscape", which took place as part of the Petersburg Curatorial Forum. Students from our academy submitted applications to the competition without knowing what the project would be about. We simply had to send a portfolio and wait for a response. It turned out the competition was related to public art — projects coordinated with the city authorities. Contestants could choose to make a paper architectural object or a project to be implemented in the urban environment. I decided that if I were to do public art, it should be real. The work proceeded in several stages. At the first stage we created sketches and presented them at an exhibition-laboratory.
At the second stage we coordinated projects with the city. It was difficult but interesting, because Petersburg is a city-monument and it's not easy to introduce something new into the fabric of the historic urban landscape. I decided to make a project on the protective mesh of a building under restoration. The building I targeted was located on Tchaikovsky Street, and the mesh looked like a musical staff, so I came up with placing a fragment of Tchaikovsky's score on it. The slogan of my project was: Tchaikovsky's music should sound on Tchaikovsky Street. I chose a ballad by Tomsky and made brass notes. But at the last moment we were forbidden to implement the project on that building and were given another one. Unfortunately, the mesh on the other building had a different shape, so I had to abandon the idea of a musical staff and place the notes differently. Nevertheless, visually it looked beautiful — the polished brass notes glittered in the sun, and next to them a QR code linked to a recording of the aria. Thus people first saw the notes and then followed the code to listen to the piece.
Brass notes on Tchaikovsky Street
I also participated in various Russian and international jewelry competitions. My works were exhibited at the Saint Petersburg Toy Museum and the Museum at the Stieglitz Academy. At the "Image of Form" competition — the largest contest of authorial jewelry art in Russia — I took first place with a bracelet from the "Symbionts" series. After defending my diploma in 2021 I applied to the GLOBAL DESIGN GRADUATE SHOW — an online exhibition of graduation works related to design. There are many categories and very different designs are presented. This project is also notable for being organized by "Thread of Arts" with the support of the Italian fashion house Gucci. I submitted the "Symbionts" project in the "Jewelry Art" category and became the only Russian jeweler to make the shortlist. The high appraisal from a serious jury — designers of world renown — was a great honor for me.
Photo: Maxim Nesterov
Which artists inspire you?
Since I consider myself not just a jeweler but an artist, I am inspired by artists from different eras and fields. I really love Velázquez and Rembrandt. From the 20th century I like Matisse and Picasso. In addition, I work in 2D and I'm interested in contemporary artists who do commercial graphics — Kim Jung Gi, Carl Capinsky. The jewelers I admire are Taffin, JAR, Hemmerle. They do work at the intersection with contemporary art and use completely different materials in their pieces. I'm also very inspired by my first teachers: Vera Vasilievna Samokhina and Alexander Viktorovich Shvets. They are the people who opened the world of art to me and still support my creativity. After a conversation with them I always feel recharged and generate new ideas. I am very grateful to them for what they gave me.
Share your creative plans?
I consider the "Symbionts" project finished, but I may return to it. It would be interesting to realize some things that haven't been done yet. I haven't given up crocheting — it's just that there's a need to make jewelry of a different kind. Lately I've been working on crocheted pieces that are more suitable for everyday wear. I also plan to continue the lubok project. Right now I have a large concept for an exhibition about illusions. In this project I plan to combine readymade techniques, use existing objects and compile them with crochet.
