The image of mother and daughter is an archetypal phenomenon, tracing back to archaic notions of nature as a creative force, as the idea of creation. The image of the mother gains additional significance in Russian culture, where the image of the woman is inextricably linked with the idea of the land, the country, the motherland. Much knowledge, skills, and know-how were passed down precisely from mother to daughter. The same applies to certain objects of folk culture, including sacred items: faceless protective or ritual motanka dolls were, as a rule, passed down along the female line. The "mother-daughter" relationship is, in a sense, a symbol of continuity, of the continuation and transmission of tradition.
It is impossible to speak about the work of Geli and Natalia Pisareva, mother and daughter, without invoking images of Russian folk art. The first thing that comes to mind when seeing Geli Pisareva's wooden sculptures is either Orthodox church sculpture or the puppet-like dolls of the Russian North, resembling miniature idols and descended from them. The first association with Natalia's works is colored paintings of various genres, from landscapes and still lifes to icons, but painted not in oil, rather with a far more archaic material—threads, a wooden stretcher and canvas as the base.
The woman is a key figure both in Geli Pisareva's sculpture and painting. Woman is both Mother Earth and the Virgin Mary; a simple peasant woman at her everyday chores, and a queen; a grandmother, and a young woman. Even in the era of Socialist Realism, while fulfilling official commissions for monumental sculptures, the artist brought a touch of her own, non-canonical vision to her creations. Even the memorials to fallen soldiers by Geli were grieving figures of their wives and mothers—an echo of the artist's own childhood spent among women, since the men went off to the front. It is about these women—a song by Bulat Okudzhava, a line from which became the title of our exhibition.
Natalia Pisareva.
Natalia Pisareva.
Geli Pisareva.
Geli Pisareva.
