Don’t be afraid to stand on your head when viewing “Flippables and More,” an exhibit of colorful, organic, acrylic paintings on view at Plainsboro Public Library. Created by Tatiana Sougakova, an abstract expressionist artist and a Plainsboro resident, the exhibit is guaranteed to engage viewers and challenge them to discover multiple interpretations in each piece.
During the artist’s reception on Sunday, January 8, from 2 to 4 p.m., the artist will create an interactive atmosphere, with thought-inspiring questionnaires, hands-on re-positioning of select pieces of art, and a free raffle drawing for one of her lively paintings. The exhibit is on view through January 31.
Sougakova is an abstract expressionist, and in her work she employs vivid colors, organic lines, shapes, and patterns that are open to many different interpretations by the viewer. “During the creative process, many layers of contemplation and analogies are embedded in the canvas,” she says. “Playfulness is woven into every piece of art. The resulting decorative appearance, however, is intentional, because it allows the painting to be enjoyed in a viewer’s personal space.”
Many of Sougakova’s canvases are “Flippables,” a term coined by the artist to describe work that is designed to look correct with any side up. The artist is also hoping the owner will interact with these works by changing the rotation of the paintings and discovering new visual and conceptual analogies. The discovery comes when the viewer has different reactions to the painting each time it is repositioned. It may be an emotional response — a feeling of calm vs. high energy; or a literal interpretation — seeing a landscape vs. an abstract image. There will be several prints of select art that the viewers can actually rotate on the wall at the exhibit.
“Serious artworks can be conceptual and philosophical during creation, but playful and interactive during presentation,” says Sougakova. “The viewer is a large part of process, and a strong interaction with the viewer makes the artwork successful.”
The interaction does not stop there. Sougakova’s questionnaire, which will be available just prior to the reception, will ask viewers about their reactions — or lack thereof. People can use it to reflect privately, or use it to join in a short discussion about the ideas. At the close of the reception the artist will raffle one of her paintings.
Sougakova was born in Russia, where she lived through young adulthood. In 1984 she graduated from Restoration Arts College in St. Petersburg, Russia, with a degree in painted surface restoration. During that time she completed many community projects, including murals for a college residence hall, a mural for a community college lobby in St. Petersburg, a stained glass piece for staircase windows in a community college, and the execution of stained glass imitation design for a cafe in St. Petersburg. She also interned at State Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Upon graduating, she worked as a community center artist for two years where she developed drafts for center decorating, and created advertisements for upcoming films and announcement posters.
She furthered her education with a concentration in languages, and earned a degree in linguistics with a minor in the Czech language at the University of St. Petersburg.
In 1991 she and her husband moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she became language services director for FOXX Oy USA (branch of a Finnish company). In 2000, Sougakova and her family moved to Plainsboro where she began to paint again, focusing on acrylic on canvas. Her art is decorative — it is meant to be enjoyed in the owner’s personal space — but it is also woven with many layers of contemplation and analogies by the artist.
Sougakova has participated in Plainsboro Library’s summer arts programs and fall Festival of the Arts. She has also contributed art to the Millstone River School, and volunteered her time at the West Windsor Arts Council and the Mercer College art gallery.
Sougakova’s works have been featured in juried shows and solo shows. Owners of her art come from many different walks of life, and include a physics professor, a classical guitar musician, a jazz guitar musician, a hypnotist, a guitar maker, clergymen, teachers, and doctors — proof that her art has a wide appeal.
“Donna Senopoulos (the library’s arts coordinator and a resident of Plainsboro) is helping me make the exhibit more of a community event for all age groups — interactive, fun, emotionally rewarding,” she says. “The art talk is designed so that one can take a closer look at art, spend a bit more time to examine it and interact with it. I believe that for my art viewer’s emotional response and viewer’s vision is just as important as my original artistic intent. So I do not like to tell the viewer what he or she should see. I wait to hear from them, what do they see, and then we compare notes.”
— Lynn Miller
Art Exhibit, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro. “Flippables and More,” an exhibit of colorful organic acrylic paintings by Tatiana Sougakova, a Plainsboro resident. She created the term “flippables” to describe her paintings that can be hung in any position and still look right. She presents an interactive challenge at the opening reception on Sunday, January 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. On view to January 31. 609-275-2897. www.lmxac.org/plainsboro.
