Dmitriy Grek. "Adam's Clay" project

Adam's Clay project, exploring the parallels between the Biblical account of the creation of humankind and each artist’s creative act, is central to Dmitriy Grek’s oeuvre. “According to the legend, Adam was made of clay, which was transubstantiated into something higher at the moment of creation.

Both philosophically and plastically, it is close to the act of creating a sculpture.” In this sense, clay is a crucial, semi-sacred material that conveys humankind’s intense rootedness in nature. Therefore, it is quite natural that clay becomes the starting point for creating new imagery in sculpture. The divine act of cosmic Creation is repeated in the stylized space of art, acquiring its own sacred implications. Clay traces the initial stages of the image’s existence, preserving the warmth of creator’s hands. “Unlike stone or wood, clay is a tough material, demanding and sensuous, malleable to the smallest touch, coming to life with nascent images, bridging the gap between the inner and outer world. It allows to catch the exact moment when the work’s mood appears, like it does in music, and to document the melody,” the sculptor noted.

Subsequent (trans)formations, from stone to bronze in this case, pose another mystery: appearing in a new material, the original image undergoes magical transformations and develops new essential properties.