Paintings in yellow colors and waterfall earrings. An unusual exhibition has opened in the Omsk Museum

Where does inspiration come from?

An unusual exhibition has opened at the Omsk State Museum of History and Local Lore – a personal exhibition of Omsk artist Polina Zaremba “Subtle Images of Existence” (0+) was presented there. The exhibition was unusual both for the museum, where paintings are rarely seen, because it has a different focus, and for the artist herself. Guests can look not only at the paintings, but also at the artist’s personal belongings.

“We offered Polina to make such an exhibition, and she cordially accepted the offer. Such bold and bright projects for the exhibition of art works are carried out quite rarely; after all, we are not an art museum. However, they coped with this task. The basis of the exhibition is Polina’s works. This includes painting, graphics, and decorative and applied arts. There are also objects that she uses in everyday life. They reveal her as a person in many ways,” said Sergei Egorov, head of the scientific, exposition and exhibition department of the museum’s OGIC.

Rich collection

Polina Zaremba is an artist who works in many techniques. She was both a painter and graphic artist, and was involved in batik and decorative arts. Guests of the exhibition can see paintings created by her between 2010 and 2023, in the style of abstract painting and more.

At the exhibition, the first thing a visitor notices is the bright canvases, painted primarily with yellow paint. The artist notes that colors have a deep meaning. Yellow, for example, is the color of the sun. There are also paintings in the impressionist style, which depict buildings known to Omsk residents: the Assumption Cathedral on Cathedral Square and the ancient “House with Dragons” on Michurina Street.

“Each painting has already participated in exhibitions. Works were exhibited in Omsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sterlitamak, Ufa, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Neftekamsk at personal and collective exhibitions. They were often asked to extend them. After Omsk, these paintings will again go to another city,” the artist reports.

The artist’s collection contains many rarities made by both foreign and domestic craftsmen. One of my favorite things is the “Black Casket” perfume set, decorated with Palekh painting. This is one of the last creations of the French perfumer Auguste Michel, who came to Russia in 1913.

Among the items from the jewelry collection, Polina highlights “waterfall earrings.” This is a WWI period rarity, 1911, originally from Austria-Hungary. The earrings came into the artist’s collection from a jewelry store in St. Petersburg. Nearby are a pendant and a brooch from the same period. At that time, jewelers abandoned gold, platinum and other precious metals and used tombaku – brass containing zinc – to make jewelry.

You can also see two dresses of the artist: the purple one was custom-made for the opening of one of the exhibitions, and the red one is a vintage Dolce&Gabbana dress, which is already decades old.

Inspiration for the artist

“The idea of ​​the exhibition is to show where a person can draw inspiration from. The collection of items was gifted to me. This is something I use often. There are things that I made, for example, ceramics and stained glass. There are gifts from colleagues. This is the first time I have such an exhibition, where you can see not only paintings, but also clothes and personal belongings,” says Polina.

Now the artist is preparing to move to St. Petersburg, where she plans to continue her activities and present her work at exhibitions in the cultural capital. Polina Zaremba donates her paintings to the gallery on the Red Path in Omsk.

You can view Polina Zaremba’s works and collection of rarities until May 12.