AES+F

AES+F is a group formed in 1987 by artists Tatiana Arzamasova, Lev Evzovich, and Evgeny Svetsky (the name is an abbreviation of their surnames). In 1995, photographer Vladimir Frize joined, adding an "F" to the group's name. The collective is known for its rigorously refined aesthetic, working across video, photography, installation, performance, and digital technologies. They describe their practice as a form of ‘social psychoanalysis’, revealing and exploring the values, vices, and conflicts of contemporary global culture. AES+F's expansive, mystical worlds draw on a deep understanding of iconography, allegories, and narratives from classical art history. Their surreal fantastical visions hypnotize viewers, immersing them in a metaspace where conventional categories – good vs. evil, beauty vs. ugliness, wealth vs. poverty, vice vs. virtue – lose their imperative force. Key projects include the Islamic Project; the trilogy The Last Riot (2005–2007, first shown at the 2007 Venice Biennale); Trimalchio's Feast (2009–2010, first shown at the 2009 Venice Biennale); Allegoria Sacra (2011); and Inverso Mundus (first presented at the 2015 Venice Biennale). AES+F received the Sergei Kuryokhin Prize (2011), the main Kandinsky Prize (2012), the top NordArt Festival award (2014), and the Pino Pascali Prize (2015, 18th edition) – all for Allegoria Sacra. The artists were also awarded a Bronze Medal (2005) and Gold Medal (2013) by the Russian Academy of Arts. Their works are held in collections including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sammlung Goetz in Munich, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and others.