MAP OUT

Map Out is the first solo show of contemporary artist Ekaterina Belukhina. She explores the power of painting in relation to the face of the city. 

The face of the city for Ekaterina is the faces of people living there marked on a map. For her, “map” means “memory.” She maps the places she goes by remembering the faces of those who live there. In this way, mapping is also about mapping our own identity through our relationships with others.

People are like small islands in the darkness of stone, a cold city. The act of mapping is a form of remembering and learning. 

In an artist’s case, it’s also a way of connecting with people—and connecting itself to them. In times of uncertainty and homeliness one can find one’s little anchors in people. Map-making is a way of finding meaning. It’s a way of remembering the past and figuring out where you are going.

By turning her attention to friends, herself, and awkward strangers on the streets, the artist in this exhibition makes visible the intimate, imperfect, and sometimes difficult relationships that characterize her connection to the city. The works ask viewers to reflect upon the limits of the knowledge of others obtained through oil paintings on canvas and paper.