Galerie Volker Diehl is pleased to present Olga Chernysheva’s solo exhibition Houseplant Is Leaving, the artist’s seventh with the gallery since 2009. The show includes paintings, works on paper, and video art, and it is curated by Shenja Kiseleva-Afflerbach

Olga Chernysheva is famous for her subtle rethinking of everyday life. Her method involves juxtaposing mundane circumstances and subtle shades of emotion, an effect also visible in her works from the Venice Biennale (2001, 2015) and Manifesta (2014). She is interested in random, peripheral fragments of both the surrounding world and our inner lives.

The new project at Galerie Volker Diehl differs from these and many other of Chernysheva’s projects, with their focus on human diversity and varying perceptions of beauty, joy, relaxation. Here, we do not see human protagonists. The exhibition begins with a farewell: we see a spotlight shining into empty space, costumed figures bowing before exiting a stage, a trash bag filled with empty popcorn containers in cinema. It’s all over. The sense of departure, the feeling of completing something pleasant and comfortable are the heart of the exhibition.

In Russian, a “houseplant” or “hothouse plant” is someone who is not ready for the challenges of life. In a new series of drawings, Chernysheva visualizes this metaphor, capturing a Crassula succulent in different states as it runs from its pot: “Leaving accidentally,” “Wanted to go, but got scared,” “Leaving as an example to others”… An anxiety-ridden creature takes a step into the unknown, this bold movement marking the end of all that was familiar. Among other things, these images show us the ascetic expressiveness of Olga Chernysheva’s line work, which was awarded the Florence and Daniel Guerlain Drawing Prize in 2022.

Amid global conflicts, tragedies, and uncertainties, loss and completion become a universal experience. Chernysheva raises it to the level of a sign, allowing us to rethink it and peer into our feelings – as if trying to restore the broken connections of the world with the loss that unites us.

Text by Shenja Kiseleva-Afflerbach

Image: Installation view at Gallery Volker Diehl

Houseplant Is Leaving
25 April — 12 July 2024
Gallery Volker Diehl

Niebuhrstrasse 2 10629 Berlin - Charlottenburg
Opening hours: Tuesday - Friday, 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday, 11 am - 2 pm, by appointment