Andrey Bartenev is a visionary contemporary artist whose practice merges sculpture, performance, and design into a vibrant celebration of form and motion. Born within the Arctic Circle, his childhood in the Far North remains the most formative period of his life. The awe and reverence he felt for the Arctic’s raw beauty continue to shape his artistic language, infused with the ornamentation and rhythm of indigenous Northern cultures.
Working with ceramics, sculpture, and performance, Bartenev transforms traditional decorative patterns into dynamic, futuristic expressions. Rising to prominence in the 1990s, he became one of the brightest figures in modern art, renowned for his kinetic performances featuring inflatable sculptures and ever-changing installations presented worldwide.
His luminous sculpture Connection Nost at the 54th Venice Biennale (2007) brought him international acclaim, following earlier successes in London (1998, 2000) and Germany. His work The Sun Pull (2000), installed on the estate of American abstractionist Willem de Kooning, became part of the collection of Bob Wilson.
Bartenev’s retrospective exhibition Say: I Love You! (2015) unfolded as a kaleidoscopic journey into his imaginative universe—a realm where art, play, and emotion merge into a single radiant experience.