Valeria Rzianina // Canada
Thanks to mass media, pornography is easily accessible and raunch culture is everywhere, leading me to question the perceived hyper-sexuality of women (and men) in pornography. In a desire to determine something relevant in today’s material culture and consumer society, I explore pornography through painting. For me, painting and pornography go hand in hand, especially since both appeal directly to the senses offering the viewer sheer visual pleasure. Confused about my own feelings on smut, I suspect pornography, similar to ancient erotic art, documents, as well as perpetuates, certain myths and truths surrounding issues of sexuality, gender, and power through depictions of love-making.
My paintings are very process oriented. I cut out images from pornography magazines and collage them onto stretched canvas to create intricate compositions of intertwined bodies. Then, layer by layer, I paint over the collage, focusing on the shapes of the bodies and deleting the majority of details, such as backgrounds and accessories. Using pornography as a ground for my painting allows me to appropriate the material. In the act of choosing certain images and not others, as well as keeping shapes but losing details, I am acting like a consumer of pornography would – I keep what I like and throw out the rest. Even though pornography is the starting point for me, my paintings are not really pornographic but highly sexualized compositions using sticky sweet colours to evoke the viewers own memories of a recent romp. My finished paintings tend to be neither representational nor abstract, but the flesh and candy colour palette used to morph the collaged bodies together into an orgy of sex and body parts hints at a rather naughty narrative.
Education
2002 – 2007
Ontario College of Art and Design Bachelor of Fine Art; Drawing and Painting
1998 – 2002
Michael Power/ St. Joseph Catholic High School Graduated with Honours
Solo Exhibitions
2009
A Little Something, Good for Her, Toronto, Ontario
2007
Selected Works, Condom Shack, Toronto, Ontario
2007
Selected Works, Jupiter, Toronto, Ontario
Group Exhibitions
2010
The X and O Show, The Bait Shop Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2010
The Sex Show, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario.
2010
mmmm…Pop!, Hang Man Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2009
Hi Libido 2, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario.
2008
Sex & Erotica Exhibition, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario.
2008
The X and O Show, The Bait Shop Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2008
Selected Works, Adrenaline Tattoos, Toronto, Ontario.
2007
Freaks and Other Strange Characters, Scratch Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2007
Big Dicks and Barbie Dolls, Spin Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
2007
With a Little Help from My Friends, El Mocambo Tavern, Toronto, Ontario
2007
Tour de Force OCAD annual Graduate Exhibition, Toronto , Ontario
2007
Year End OCAD Retrospective Show, The Great Hall, Toronto, Ontario
2006
A Day in the Life…, Transit Space, Toronto, Ontario
2006
Bedroom Blues, XSPACE Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2006
Ontario College of Art and Design Figurative Art Show, Toronto, Ontario
2005
OCAD Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale, Toronto, Ontario
2005
Powerful Visions Arts & Technology Art Show, Toronto, Ontario
Scholarships/Awards
2005
David L. Stevenson & Son Award and Scholarship
2002
Earla Alexander Scholarship
2002
Etobicoke Art Group Award & Scholarship
2002
Mario Gasparatto Visual Arts Award and Scholarship
Other
2009
Boobalicious, featured artist at fundraiser, Toronto, Ontario.
2009
Nuit Blanche, St. Vlad’s Community Center, Toronto, Ontario.
2008
Valeria Rzianina: Erotic Painter, featured on SexTV, episode 10-13.
2007
The Everything to Do with Sex Show, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario
