Under the patronage of the Embassy of Lithuania in Ukraine
“This language is perhaps singular in that one man goes after the sound the drums have to offer, but it is universal in what it inspires, and what it inspires is awe, terror, vulnerability, loss, grief, sorrow, resolve, joy, and strength. In all, this recital is an inspiration to the very spirit of the creative heart, how it pulses and breathes, moves, and creates from emptiness, only to return to the eternal silence.”
Thom Jurek, “All Music Guide to Jazz” 4th edition
“Vladimir Tarasov, a drummer of rare subtlety and cunning, takes sensual delight in the very touch of his extensive array of instruments, from finger chimes to cymbals. He is also a master of decorative brushwork”.
Nat Hentoff, “The Wall Street Journal”, USA
“Tarasov was virtuosic with one drum stick on a small hand-held disc”.
Mary Campbell,“Associated press”, New York
The exhibition will consist of installations and videos installed on both floors of the gallery.
Vladimir Tarasov is a well-known jazz musician, percussionist, and composer who lives and works in Vilnius. He is an equally renowned visual artist whose work includes installations and video. His work in music and visual art inform each other, building interesting and unexpected dialogues.
From the ‘70s, Vladimir Tarasov’s performances and music in the group Ganelin Trio captivated audiences in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Moscow, and it was featured at all the important music festivals. Intellectuals and artists, such as Moscow Conceptualist Circle artists—Ilya Kabakov, Eduard Gorohovskiy, Viktor Pivovarov, and Erik Bulatov, among others, were drawn to the concerts. Over the next several years, the popularity of the Ganelin Trio grew and spread throughout the world. In the ‘80s, solo performances of Vladimir Tarasov attracted no less attention.
Vladimir Tarasov’s visual work emerges naturally from his music. His installations and video work unite thoughtful conceptual construction with intuitive force and perceptual subtlety. His attention to hidden conceptual narratives lends itself to his collaborative works with other artists such as Ilya Kabakov.
The exhibition Between Sound and Image at the ART 14 Gallery is the first major presentation of Vladimir Tarasov’s artwork in Kiev. The work shown allows the viewer to witness the artist’s achievements in recent years.
Glib Vishe-Slavskiy
Vladimir Tarasov
Vladimir Tarasov was born in Arkhangelsk, Russia. Since 1968 he has lived and worked in Vilnius, Lithuania.
From 1971 to 1986 Tarasov was a member of the jazz music trio GTC (Viatcheslav Ganelin, Vladimir Tarasov, Vladimir Chekasin). Since 1990 he has been a member of the Lithuanian Composers Union.
Vladimir Tarasov writes music for orchestras, film and theatre. With the GTC and many other artists and orchestras he has recorded more than 100 records and CDs, including 11 solo compositions for percussion. Since 1991 he has been engaged in visual arts. He arranges one-person exhibitions. In cooperation with Ilya Kabakov and other artists, V. Tarasov participated in many group exhibitions. In 1993-1994 he received a grant from Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart (Germany), and in 1998 from Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy.
He is the author of the book Trio, published by Baltos Lankos publishing house (Vilnius, 1998) and by New Literary Observer publishing house (Moscow, 2004),
as well as of the book Tam Tam, published by NLO publishing house in 2009.
In 2009 Vladimir Tarasov received the independent art prize Triumph in Moscow.
He has taught and given lectures at Podewil Center in Berlin, Music Academy in Bremen, and Academies of Art in Orleans (France), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Vilnius (Lithuania); as well as at the Department of Art at California State University in Sacramento, at University of the Pacific in Stockton (USA), and at Institute of Studio Studies in conjunction with Yale University Summer Session in Pont-Aven, France.
