Research: Re-discovering still life: Philosophy and aesthetics of hidden symbols in the magic realism of Gregorio Sciltian
Raisa Popova obtained bachelor's degree in design at the Ural State University of Architecture and Art and a master's degree in Art History at the Ural Federal University. She was involved in various educational and research projects at the Academy of Contemporary Art in Ekaterinburg (Russia), where she worked since 2015. The field of her activity included organization of international scientific events (symposiums, conferences), different editing and publication projects. She had full-cycle lecture courses on the history of art and modernist art processes at the Academy of Contemporary Art, and the short special courses at the Art Studio of the Ural State University of Architecture and Art.
Raisa’s research interests focus on the interactions between the Russian and European versions of Modernism. She puts a special emphasis on the symbolic and philosophic contexts of the Russian Avant-guard.
Her current research is dedicated to the analysis of the philosophical grounds and socio-cultural transformation of the genre of still life in the art of the 20th century. She focuses on the works of artists related to the metaphysical circle, particularly on the art of Italian-Armenian painter Gregorio Sciltian. The project provides an interdisciplinary look at the issue combining research tools from the art history, philosophy, cultural studies and semiotics.