Ivan Simonov, a Russian street artist, unveils his new exhibition titled “Text as Landscape” at a pop/off/art space in Moscow. Text appears not as a backdrop but as a material woven into train windows, doors, mats, fabrics, and a range of everyday items that become canvases for language. The show treats language as a visible force, infusing ordinary objects with meaning and inviting viewers to read the world in new ways.
In speaking about the project, the artist explains that he revisits familiar techniques and threads them into a cohesive logical sequence, then enriches them with text. Life itself becomes one of the languages through which reality is communicated, a raw, undeniable force that shapes perception. The installation moves beyond isolated objects to create a layered, textually charged environment where forms and inscriptions dialogue with one another.
The curatorial approach blends various media, including art objects, video, painting, and graphic work, to explore how language mirrors culture. The artist is interested in showing how linguistic signs can reveal attitudes toward reality, using textual elements as a tool to probe and challenge cultural codes. This framework encourages visitors to consider how words and images together construct meaning in urban spaces and personal memory.
Simonov’s practice centers on the relationship between people and their surroundings, using text to illuminate how humans influence one another and how environments respond to those interactions. His earlier projects, including the street series #littlepeople and the piece “Sold,” have helped him gain recognition for blending social observation with visual language. Works by the artist span several notable settings, such as Petersburg and institutions like the Copelouzos Family Art Museum in Greece, the Winzavod Foundation, the Radiance Center for Contemporary Art, and the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art, where his contributions have sparked conversations about the role of text in contemporary art.
In related programming, the exhibition experience is complemented by discourse surrounding linguistic expression in public spaces. The project invites viewers to consider how signage, graffiti, and textual fragments interact with architecture and daily life, shaping a shared cultural narrative. The interweaving of textual form with physical object challenges conventional boundaries between sculpture, installation, and printmaking, creating a hybrid field where language acts as a sculptural material in its own right.
As the show unfolds, the viewer is encouraged to move through spaces where printed letters, painted inscriptions, and documentary imagery coexist with tactile objects. Each element serves as a reminder that communication is present in every corner of urban existence and that language offers a lens through which culture, memory, and identity can be examined. The collaboration of image and text invites a reevaluation of what counts as artwork and what counts as everyday text, blurring lines and inviting reflection on how meaning is produced in contemporary life.
The installation places emphasis on the power of language to shape perception, memory, and social interaction. By repurposing familiar objects as carriers of text, the exhibition asks audiences to listen for the voices that language carries in the streets, galleries, and homes. It presents a vision of art where the catalog of signs is not merely decorative but a vital, active force in cultural dialogue. The result is a provocative, thought-provoking experience that resonates with audiences across generations and backgrounds, offering a fresh perspective on how text can be used to illuminate reality and illuminate culture. The project thereby contributes to ongoing conversations about how artists engage with language as medium, message, and mechanism of social change.
In parallel programming, discussions and walkthroughs provide additional context for visitors to interpret the works. The show poses questions about the relationship between language and power, the ways in which text can critique or reinforce social norms, and the role of the viewer in deciphering layered meanings. Through this immersive approach, the exhibition becomes a kinetic study in perception, inviting audiences to participate in a dialogue about how language constructs our surroundings and our sense of belonging.