Fyodor Borisovich Pavlov-Andreevich (Russian: Фёдор Бори́сович Па́влов-Андрее́вич, April 14, 1976, Moscow, Russia) is a Brazilian artist, curator, and theater director.
Early life and education
Pavlov-Andreevich was born in Moscow to film historian Boris Pavlov and writer Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. He is the great-grandson of the linguist Nikolay Yakovlev, and the great-great-grandson of the Ukrainian Jewish revolutionary Ilya Weger.
He graduated with MA in European literature from Moscow State University's department of journalism in 1999.
Pavlov-Andreevich first made a name for himself in the 1990s as a young journalist and presenter for Russian print and television outlets. At the end of the 1990s, he began producing projects in the contemporary culture sector.[1]
From the 2000s onward, he has worked as a theater director, performance artist, and curator. He lives between São Paulo and London.[2]
Career
Theatre
In 2002, Pavlov-Andreevich made his theatrical debut with 'BiFem', based on the play by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. In 2003, the play received the New Word ('Novoe slovo') award at the New Drama ('Novaya drama') Festival.[3] Among his other theatrical works are 'Old Women' ('Staroukhy'), a thirty-minute experimental opera based on the Daniil Kharms story that was nominated for two Golden Mask awards in 2010;[4] and 'Andante', a 'dramatic dance' production based on another play by Petrushevskaya, first performed at the Meyerhold Centre in 2016.
Pavlov-Andreevich earned international recognition thanks to one of his guerrilla performances, 'The Foundling', in which a nude Pavlov-Andreevich, encased in a glass box, was literally thrown into a series of society events without their organizers' permission. Among them were the gala opening of the new building of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, a dinner by French patron François Pinault at the Venice Biennale, and the Met Gala in New York. During the performance at the Met Gala on May 2, 2017, he was arrested by New York City police for trespassing on private property and public nudity, then sent to Central Booking prison, where he spent 24 hours.[8][9]
His series of performances, Temporary Monuments (2014–2017), along with solo shows by the same name at Moscow's Pechersky Gallery (2016) and the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo (2017), was dedicated to the problem of contemporary slavery in Brazil and Russia. In each of the seven performances in the series, the artist immersed himself in the conditions which slaves were (or are) forced to endure.[10] In one of them (Pau de Arara), he submits himself to a type of medieval torture still used by the Brazilian police's special forces; in another (O Tigre), he performs a Brazilian slave ritualistic punishment, in which a person must cross Rio de Janeiro while carrying a basket of sewage on their head.[11][12]
Pavlov-Andreevich's artistic practice focuses on three subjects: the distance between the spectator and the work of art in performance, the temporality and vulnerability of the human body, and the connection between the sacred and the obscene.
British art historian Adrian Heathfield described Pavlov-Andreevich's practice as follows: ‘Fyodor is making powerful work in a performance art lineage that deals with power, bodies and participation. He’s also something of brilliant interventionist – his Foundling performances have caused quite a stir.’
Curatorial practice
Beginning the 2000s, Pavlov-Andreevich served as director of the Solyanka State Gallery in Moscow, the country's first gallery dedicated to live art.
Political protests and activism
He resigned from Solyanka following the forced cancellation of a solo exhibition by artist/activist Katrin Nenasheva (2018) which was banned from opening by the state authorities.[13]
Since day one of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Pavlov-Andreevich became quite vocal against Putin's aggression, dedicating both his live work and activism to Ukraine and its defenders.
Pyotr & Fyodor, 24-hour performance conversation with artist Pyotr Bystrov, curated by Daria Demekhina and Anna Shpilko. Solyanka State Gallery, Moscow
Walk Away Until I Stay, performance, part of The Two Rings series. MKAD, Moscow
Empty Bus, performance, part of The Two Rings series. Garden Ring, Moscow
2012
Walk on My Shame, installation and performance, curated by Kathy Grayson, in collaboration with Matthew Stone, as part of New-Revisions, Frieze Week. NEO Bankside, London
2011
Photobody, solo show, as part of Non-Stage, Istanbul Biennale. Commissioned by Galerie Non, Istanbul
2010
The Great Vodka River, mixed-media installation and performance, curated by Katya Krylova. Presented by Luciana Brito Galeria as part of Art Public, curated by Patrick Charpenel at Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami
