Kayaks

In contrast to his very classical Swimmers, the theme of aquatic sports takes on a more playful tone in Zeinalov’s series of Girls with an Oar. The figure of a young woman clutching at an oar was popularized in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. It was inspired, as the prevailing style of Socialist Realism required, by antique examples. However, in Zeinalov’s interpretation, this trope is provocatively modern. His Girl with an Oar is anything but classic. She is slim, high-spirited, and extremely vital. Just like the handle of the oar she holds on to, her arms are nothing more than a couple of metal rods – parts of the frame holding together any sculpture made from clay or plaster, which get exposed when the statue is damaged. Curiously enough, the artist uses color in the plaster version of this composition to create an eye-catching piece, even though plaster, at least the way we know it, doesn’t often get painted over. One of the bronze casts of this sculpture is owned by the Cassino Museum of Contemporary Art in Italy.

Over time, the Girl with an Oar evolved into an even more modern-looking Girl with a Kayak. In this series, the female figures are rendered in a more generalized manner and placed on elaborate geometric pedestals, whose green-turquoise section represents water. Similarly to their plaster counterparts, these bronze figurines are also painted with vivid colors; their kayaks and swimsuits are orange, purple, blue, and red – an audacious approach rarely taken with bronze. There is a sole male figure in this otherwise female series; he is the Walker we have seen before, but smaller and with a rougher texture, carrying a red kayak on his shoulder.