Kozlov’s painting from 2004 has no title, but according to the artist, any of his untitled works now bears the title “E-E” (pronounced ye-ye). Ye-ye perfectly renders the musicality and rhythm generated by four dancing female figures dominating the composition. Kozlov adopted them from two drawings from 2000 which, in turn, were inspired by a series of pictures he took in 1984 at a sixties style twist dance party more >> that first led to his zigzag fold of painted photo collages “Good Evening Gustav” (1984) more >>. In the drawings, and especially in the painting, the artist highlighted the figures’ extravagant movements through extended forms and volumes.

(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov „ART E. Козлов /Е-Е/ N. 40 „ГУД ИВНИН ГУСТАВ“ ART E. Kozlov /E-E/ No. 40 ‘Good Evening Gustav’ Polyptych, 20 parts, each approx. 29.7 x 21 cm, photo collage, 1984 Part 1 more >>		(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov E-E Mixed media on paper, 64 x 44 cm, 2000 more >>
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov „ART E. Козлов /Е-Е/ N. 40 „ГУД ИВНИН ГУСТАВ“ ART E. Kozlov /E-E/ No. 40 ‘Good Evening Gustav’ Polyptych, 20 parts, each approx. 29.7 x 21 cm, photo collage, 1984 Part 5 more >>		(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov E-E Mixed media on paper, 64 x 44 cm, 2000

(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov holding Е-Е Люди / E-E People, 80 х 60 см, mixed media on canvas, 2017 more >>, inspired by picture 1 of the zigzag fold “Good Evening Gustav” (1984).
Video still: Hannelore Fobo

Their very shapes now express an individuality that, paradoxically, has attained a more universal nature, like that of symbols. In this way, between 1984 and 2004, and with each successive work, the figures continue metamorphosing: It is the metamorphosis of “migrating images”. Art historian Aby Warburg coined this term about a hundred years ago to define the re-use and transformation of ancient images in later times, but it also fits Kozlov’s approach to his own art. In fact, migrating images characterise Kozlov’s artistic practice, and to study his body of work means to re-encounter figures, but also other, more abstract forms in ever new shapes – as emotive formulas, as David Britt translated “Pathosformeln”, another of Aby Warburg’s terms more >>.

Around the dancers, a multitude of colourful floral elements, of (dripping) lines, ribbons, dots, as well as a goblin’s head, bordering the bottom together with seven walking spheres, enhance the composition’s dynamic complexity. In the video, the colours and patterns of Joanna Stingray’s jacket reflect them perfectly.

In 2009, Kozlov defined this compositional technique as “CHAOSE ART”, the “E” being a reference to his artist name. CHAOSE ART produces “complex harmonies which include the unordered, the uncoded without arranging it, but rather establishing relations within it.” more >>. Two intersecting beams, one vertical and the other one horizontal – a cross – serve as a counterpoint to the dancer’s anarchic expressivity. Because the cross shares the background’s white colour, we don’t immediately notice it. Yet on closer inspection, many elements of the composition follow this structure, being either in a vertical or horizontal position. Kozlov added an oval-shaped form slightly above the intersection of the beams, thus turning it into the head of a figure with outstretched arms. In the video, this cross-structure is partly hidden behind the figure of Joanna Stingray.

Below is another, light-blue cross with slightly bulbous edges reminiscent of hippie style bubble letters. It emerges from a band of the same colour that meanders through the picture like a river through a plain. Crosses are a recurring feature in Kozlov’s body of work, who has brought this symbol back to contemporary painting.

The image clearly presents a narration, although its “plot” is not as well-defined as that of a sequence in a linear account, for instance, in a comic strip. In other words, E-E doesn't illustrate a specific event, because CHAOSE ART, with its abundance of unlikely linkages, makes everything happen simultaneously and thus revokes time. The diversity and originality of figurative and non-figurative elements offered Andrei Airapetov countless possibilities to create special effects; for instance, he makes the figures turn around or walk (2:16 min), dresses and undresses them (3:30 min), makes the yellow boots march (2:40 min), and turns the holes of the plug socket into blinking eyes (3:16 min).

Paint that disintegrates and runs down the canvas is another one of Airapetov’s favourite features (1:06 min, 3:21 min).

At 2:53 min, there is also a short appearance of another one of Kozlov’s multifigure paintings, “The Heart isn’t Necessarily Red” from 1996 – a cameo, in a manner of speaking, framing the cardboard band. Airapetov animated it a month earlier for Kozlov’s one-man show at Galerie Viercke, Hamburg more >>.

Live Painting

Refill ink for paint marker, yellow. Photo: Hannelore Fobo

For his live painting, Kozlov used ink – refill ink for markers he applies directly from the bottles. It is a technique he has been frequently employing since the 1980s, because he likes the bright and saturated hues of refill ink and the fact that it dries immediately – it allows him to draw transparent layers on top of each other. Previously, the small bottles came with a twist-off top, so that he would “throw” the liquid from a distance to create large, irregular surfaces more >>. Modern bottles are supplied with a nozzle. Applying it to the paper or canvas while softly squeezing the bottle renders the movement of the hand with precision.

For “Shades of Yellow”, the artist chose a yellow, almost orange tone and created both a figurative work in an A2-format and a larger, abstract drip painting. In both cases, the paper was lying flat on a horizontal surface.

The figurative work displays a cross shape as its main compositional feature, but does so in a more obvious way than the painting from 2004 described above. Although there is no cross a such, the subject of the crucifixion suggests itself: the camera follows Kozlov's hand as it is swiftly moving across the paper drawing a figure with outstretched arms and a light blue loincloth.

However, this is not the suffering Christ – rather, the gesture looks like an embrace, and in the video, the figure starts dancing. (1:02 – 1:04).

For the abstract work with its curvy lines and dots, the artist held the bottle at a distance from the paper, and, depending on how fast he moved the bottle and how strongly he squeezed it, created different dripping effects – dotted and continuous lines or just thick drops (0:54 min – 0:58 min, 2:46 – 2:48 min).

Thread-like drip marks emerge from the drops, similar to those present in the large painting from 2004, but on the paper's horizontal surface, they extend to different sides. Additionally, Airapetov created a natural “running down” effect, alternating the law of gravitation.

Airapetov actually used the drip effect in many video sequences, including the one with Joanna Stingray standing in front of an originally white brick wall. With the help of pastose layers of paint from which big drops are running down the wall, he made it shine in the colours of the rainbow (0.21 min).