“Still” Life… Not Exactly. Photographs by Count Dimitri Tolstoï at Art Rouge Gallery

By Margarite Gil

Like the Greek mythological poet Orpheus, Dimitri Tolstoi tries to resist death by facing it head on. Though he cannot destroy it, he artfully “sticks his tongue out at it” successfully mocking it and making us smile at his great sense of humor. By denying its existence, treating it as if it was not there, he sheathes death in finery, bathing it in jewels. In a way, he’s wooing death.

With the above statement in mind, your visit into the ArtRouge Gallery can now become a romp through Tolstoi’s “Still” Life photographs, as opposed to a temporary tour into his post-mortem fantasy land. With mindful, delirious joy he positions his models with great care for the tiniest details. Always the grim reaper but with a dash of optimism, I imagine Dimitri gloating and enjoying a devious snicker at the thought that some future viewer would no doubt be quite taken, chagrined and delighted by this latest body of works.

Son of Count Serge Tolstoi and Colette Deloffre, Dimitri is the great grandson of writer Leon Tolstoi. Brought up in the Russian tradition, he was surrounded from a young age by the artistic and literary community of his parents. Early on, photography became an obsession, after he discovered the chamber camera which belonged to his great grandmother. By the age of 26, his dedication to lighting and precision allowed Tolstoi to pierce the French advertising industry and (in a manner of speaking), make a name for himself.

This artist brings together opposing forces and creates a new reality. His views on life and death are sometimes disturbing, sometimes mysterious but always thought provoking. For instance, Peggy, (lambda color print) who must have been a lovely swine before she met the butcher’s block, now extends a well groomed flesh-toned hoof that still holds several sturdy hairs in place. On her delicate wrist is a tapered gold bracelet that evokes a passion for the finer things in life. Ginger (lambda color print) must also have been quite an alluring chick in the hen house, but after Dimitri’s intervention she now has taken on a bluish cast, much like the skin color one would find on a coroner’s slab. But still the flirtatious coquette, her pointy claws are painted a bright bloody red.

Many of Tolstoi’s large scale photos are meticulously printed on an aluminum background and then sandwiched under a clear Plexiglas protective outing which gives them a lustrous almost impenetrable exterior. Yet his “insects” series blatantly lack the protective see through panel. Instead they are matt finished and accessible. The bugs connote a peaceful but ruthless environment. Vegetation Vs. hungry insects, a battle ground where the insects take on the colorful camouflage of the flora that they will ultimately invade. The floral part of the show exposes a lighter, softer side of the artist. But don’t be swayed into falsehood. Each beautiful petal is portrayed at the end of its life with pistils and stamens seemingly thrown about randomly.

Now comes the eve, when on its stem vibrates
Each flower, evaporating like a censer;
When sounds and scents in the dark air grow denser;
Drowsed swoon through which a mournful waltz pulsates!

Flowers of Evil by Baudelaire

The exhibition, which runs until the end of June, 2007 also contains close up shots of various bearded men from different ethnic backgrounds. Hairy faces can be a sign of virility, wisdom, sophistication or just plain laziness. For you to judge.

Next to some of the pictures of pigs, chickens, beards, insects, flowers and fluids, Tolstoi has included descriptive poetic correspondences in order to help the art-lover decipher his photographic intentions. These words of art, on their own are sublime, but attached to the show successfully enhance Tolstoi’s visual contrasts between life and death and reflect the paradoxes and contradictions of humanity.
Hey Dimitri, great-grandpa would have been proud.

“Great works of art are only great if everyone has access to them and can understand them.”

Leon Tolstoi

Art Rouge Gallery
3275 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305.448.2060
www.artrouge.com

Prev - Next >>