The artistic duo Marta Volkova & Slava Shevelenko began their artistic journey in the Soviet Union. Their art careers started in the artistic underground scene of the 80s Sint Petersburg and their lives under the authoritarian political system are the primary source of inspiration in their works.
In their artworks, big, rich & multi-faceted projects, Marta & Slava become storytellers of visual narratives and their mediums become the actors through which these stories are expressed. They explore the boundaries between reality and fiction, use subjects from collective mythologies and play with moral, social, political & philosophical metaphors, which are still relevant today.
The absurd approach of (social) reality, the dry & melancholic humour, the continued commercialisation of society, facts & myth, collective mythology & history all come together in the well-executed works that are as diverse in the subjects they tell stories about, as they are in the techniques employed.
They have a long list of museum exhibitions throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and have works in many public and private art collections. In recent years, they have exhibited at the Museum Dr. Guislain, The New Institute in Rotterdam, the Bonnefantenmuseum, the SCHUNCK museum, Marres, Palais für aktuelle Kunst and the State Museum of Urban Sculpture. Marta & Slava currently live and work in Maastricht, NL.