Volodymyr Kuznetsov's Stitched "Personal Diary": High on Concept, Low on Message

​Russians are notorious for scribbling in their journals. Dostoevsky kept a diary and so did Anna, his wife. Celebrated Russian hoofer Nijinsky chronicled his descent into dementia during the six weeks he spent in Switzerland before being committed to an asylum.

But Ukrainian's are no slouches either when it comes to baring the soul. Volodymyr Kuznetsov, a contemporary Ukrainian artist, seeks to take his handwritten record of quotidian routine a step further in an intriguing exhibit at the Black Square Gallery in Wynwood.

His solo, "Personal Diary," includes nine entries from the collection of journals, calendars and notebooks he keeps. These are subsequently silk screened on synthetic fabric and hand-embroidered with his daily impressions, plans, sketches, and other sundry personal details.

Courtesy Black Square Gallery

Volodymyr Kuznetsov, "Fire on the Roof"

Kuznetsov applies his embroidery expertise to transmit information along the same lines as the ancient civilizations that created ornamental patterns on fabric to encode their systems of knowledge, ideology, and spiritual beliefs for future generations to discover.

But where the ancients hewed to esoteric symbols to deliver their messages, the Ukrainian strives to openly communicate his opinions and mundane ruminations to the public almost as if engaging in social networking or sharing his intimate affairs on a live journal through his diary-based art.

Courtesy Black Square Gallery

Volodymyr Kuznetsov, "To Cook Borshch"

For example, we know that he went shopping for meat bones, eggs, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and potatoes on a Wednesday in January to cook himself up a pot of borscht. His ingredients for the traditional Ukrainian stew bring to mind those diet journals people often keep for tracking calories or monitoring nutritional intake.