Neo-Classy features 11 paintings and photo prints by Olga Tobreluts. She is best known for infusing digital technology to her work while maintaining the classical aura and aesthetics ---a completely new reality that transcends the historical context and is much more in synch with the modern time. Tobreluts’ works are bold manipulations of historical facts and contemporary myths, amalgamated in a magical super-reality. Whether or not Olga’s ornamental myths have any basis in classical mythology, they always reference the present day and age. By juxtaposing the classical and the modern, Tobreluts’ art underscores the fact that history is the cradle of mythology and the furnace in which artistic ideas are forged. This exhibition hence challenges and questions our knowledge and definition of the “classic” and “modern”.

Acclaimed internationally as the pioneer of media art, Olga Tobreluts has been one of the most crucial influences on the development of contemporary art. Tobreluts was born in 1970 in Leningrad, Russia. She is active as a painter, photographer, sculptor and curator. In fact, she is the creator of large-scale video installations.

After her graduation in Computer Graphics from the Institute ART + COM in Berlin, Germany, she continued to work closely with Professor Ulrich Wahlberg and discovered digital technologies. A radical change in Tobreluts’ aesthetics took place immediately. She abandoned painting and immersed herself completely in computer graphics, photography and 3D modeling. She then became the champion and driving force behind Neo-Academism as she accepted the position of a professor in the Department of New Technologies in the New Academy of Fine Arts.

Olga Tobretluts’ work has received various international acclaim. Her “Models” series shared GRIFFELKUNST First Prize for the best digital artwork in Europe with works of [a French artist] Orlan. Her art pieces are distinguished with prestigious awards and featured on the covers of such influential magazines as ART, ATTITUDE, Duesseldorf Hefte, The Observer Magazine and many others as well.

Image: © Olga Tobreluts, AP Contemporary