鈥淲hat happens when a genre with a well-known history, like still life, intersects with today鈥檚 technological advancements?鈥 This question sits at the heart of Vlad Hrynko鈥檚 (b. 1991) Foundation series. The visual artist, based in Kyiv, Ukraine, crafts installations from cardboard boxes and other miscellaneous objects; in his words, 鈥渓iterally anything that is nearby.鈥 He projects colourful light onto the arrangement, transforming piles of clutter into something entirely different. The patterns are inspired by abstract paintings, with intersecting geometric shafts of green, pink, red and yellow. Readers might be reminded of Barbara Kasten, who pioneered constructed photography in the 1980s. Yet Hrynko鈥檚 work takes on new meaning in an era defined by overconsumption and waste. His process is intuitive and involves scaling and moving light sources little by little, conducting several experiments on each scene until he finally feels 鈥渢hat鈥檚 it.鈥
All images: Vlad Hrynko, Untitled (2023). From Foundation (2023 鈥 ongoing).
