Rubbish Rhapsody: Calder Kamin, Dmitri Koustov
Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas
May 14 – July 02, 2022

Anya Tish Gallery is thrilled to present Rubbish Rhapsody, a two-person exhibition featuring intricately crafted sculptures by Calder Kamin and Dmitri Koustov’s chromatically dynamic abstractions. Kamin’s critters, scurrying throughout the gallery, paired with Koustov’s bombastic colors dancing along the walls, create a captivating experience for the viewer, while simultaneously addressing our increasingly complex and fragile relationship with the natural world. Ground-breaking Austin artist, Calder Kamin, transforms found materials into mesmerizing creatures such as foxes, bears, wolves, deer, and critters. She hand-cuts, weaves, glues, and crochets a myriad of discarded plastics (straws, spoons, bottle caps, etc.) creating a recycled environment of “fake nature”. Her “subjects” are animals that actually thrive in the human world, particularly urban dwellers, who eat the food we leave behind as trash: “I scavenge for my materials, just as those animals do.” The artist’s intent is to not only bring awareness to the overabundance of waste in the world but also to inspire the individual to think more consciously about their use of plastic/recycling and their relationship to these urban creatures. By making the art accessible and attractive, she reaches an audience of all ages giving them the courage to create a brighter and cleaner future.

Texas-based, Russian-born, painter and sculptor, Dmitri Koustov’s creative output was drastically affected upon his arrival to Texas. The artist discovered an abundance of inspiration from his new surroundings: vast open spaces, sunny, blue skies, and lush vegetation; he started utilizing radiant hues, encouraging works filled with gestural patterns of captivating surfaces. This lyricism finds expression in abstract compositions where luminosity is derived from the interplay of light and the layering of hues. The artist allows the observer to imagine and identify shapes through their own personal anamnesis, similarly to that of a Rorschach test, by painting flat from a vantage point of view and not defining the orientation of the painting. Through his unique technique, Koustov creates compositions riddled with movement and texture, orchestrating a symphony of intoxicating colors and textures that emphasize the distinctive character of Texas terrain, climate, and sunlight.

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