Matryoshka Madness: Russian Nesting Dolls In Every Form

Above: A set emulating blow-up dolls from the 250 Matryoshka exhibit in Belgium


I know, I know, you've seen the popular trend of these Russian Nesting Dolls on lots of blogs, but before you think you've seen them all, take a look. I defy you to find a larger collection than my own examples of Matryoshka Madness (especially since this post has been updated with part 2!)

Above: A traditional set of Russian Nesting Dolls

Russian nesting dolls have been an art form for centuries. No matter how you spell them, be it matryoshkas, matrioshka, matryoshkus or matreshkas, they seem to be making a big comeback in many forms. From the modern nod to technology by Russian design studio Art Lebedev to the $1200.00 custom series for a family of five, painted from a photo by illustrator Trisha Krauss.



above: Bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte take shape of Matryoshkas to make the right sequence in white, available from Art Lebedev


Above: Trisha Krauss will create a custom set based on a photo, available at Auto

In 2003, The Wurst Gallery had a fabulous exhibit of these nesting dolls painted by various contemporary and low brow artists, most (but not all) of which have since been sold. Here are the artists and their work from that show:






Above: The complete set by artist Trish Grantham



Another artist painted Matryoshka exhibit is the 2006 one from MAF (the Music Art Forum) in which 50 artists painted Matryoshka's which were auctioned off for charity.
here are a few of my favorites from that exhibit:










See all 50 sets here.

Several other contemporary artists have their own interpretations of the traditional Russian nesting dolls.

Take a look at some more of the Matryoshka Madness:

The Redspective online store often carries unique, one of kind, artist made nesting dolls but they sell out quickly. Now in stock are the following three sets:

Above: set by artist Roland Bruckner, 250,000 euros

Above: set by the Incubus Project, 250,000 euros

Above: set by artist Chin Chin, 250,000 euros


Above: One of my personal favorites by artist Marco Cibola


Above: the minimalist Pantone Matryoshkas by Yar Rassadin




Above: Three hand-painted sets by Russian artist Irina Troitskaya:

Artist Bryan Rawlings made a set of erotic life sized nesting dolls for Julian Murphy that are now the property of the Erotic Art Museum in Hollywood, California, where they are part of the permanent collection:


Above: Bryan Rawling's Erotic Matryoshka Sculptures

Even Swedish superstore Ikea sells a version; JUTANÄS by Maria Vinka

Above: Inspired by the Russian nesting dolls she collected as a child, Vinka wanted to create a modern, multi-ethnic version. Instead of identical nesting Russian dolls, she made a doll for each continent. A native Lapp, Vinka made the doll for Europe a Lapp as well. The dolls are made in Russia according to traditional methods, and each one is handpainted with a unique facial expression. Available at IKEA.

Russian Nesting Doll imagery is popping up everywhere on home decor from pillows by Thomas Paul to coin purses at Fred Flare.

Pillows:


Thomas Paul Pillows shown above from 2Modern


above pillows (which may no longer be available) from Urban Outfitters

Cards:


The above Matroyshka cards are available at Poketo.


plates and coin purses from Fred Flare

clothing:

Matryoshka shirts available here.

jewelry:

Both the Sterling silver 3D charm and 14k yellow gold charm available here.

bedding:

Bedspread from Urban Outfitters

Even the Pupa cosmetics of Italy has a line called Puposka which is collection of make-up kits perfumes,and containers in white, red or blue that are Russian nesting dolls:



Pupa Cosmetics

Need Matryoshkas that stick?

Buy the above vinyl wall stickers here.
or Buy the little stickers here.

And here are just a few of the wonderful Matryoshka items available on etsy (I'm sorry I can't show them all):

coasters: Chrome ID tag for zippers or keychains:

Car trash/litter bag: Matryoshka handbag:

Russian Doll adjustable ring: Decoupaged ring:

Matryoshka cupcake toppers: Baby Bib and Burp Cloth:


Lindt even makes Chocolate Matryoshkas:

But even better are Viktoria Richards Red Collection: three variations of chocolate nesting dolls.

Individually foil wrapped:

A single 4 inch solid chocolate doll:

and miniature boxed chocolate Martyoshkas:

buy them here.

Wanna make some yourself?

You can be creative with blank dolls found here:


Or, if you feel you're not that creative, for only $39.00, you can easily DIY these traditional looking Russian Nesting Dolls (if you can paint within the lines), that comes with paint and brush:


Available here

Now, if you're looking for traditional Russian nesting dolls in the form of animals, pop culture icons like the Simpsons nesting dolls or South Park nesting dolls (yes, they make them), celebrity nesting dolls like Elvis or Madonna, the following stores carry all these and more:

handofman.com
moscowstore.com
russianartstore.com
russianesprit.com
And some relevant links for you:
How Matryoshkas are made.
Reference books:


Buy Russian Doll Books, Movies, Calendars, Blank Sets and more here

Check out Matroyoshka Madness Part 2, with electronic gadgets and more.

Painting Pachyderms: Elephants As Artists. And Other Animals That Paint.

Imagine a gallery where the works hung on the walls aren't that of Picasso, Matisse and Gauguin, but instead by Pigcasso, Tillamook and Kooba. (True, Picasso was often referred to as an 'animal', but in this case, I'm talking about an actual animal).

The following video is pretty unbelievable (but is real and unaltered). If you can, watch it through to the end to see the finished painting.



Don't believe it? It's true.

Here's are 2 examples of finished pieces by the same elephant, Hong, in the video above, that recently sold for $500.00 a piece:



A bit more about the artist, Hong:

LOCATION: Chiang Mai, THAILAND
CAMP: Maetaman Elephant Camp
ART TEACHER: Khun Tossapol Petcharattanakool
ELEPHANT: Hong
SEX: Female
AGE: 8
MAHOUT: Mr. Noi Rakchang

HONG'S BIO: At six years old, Hong has a very curious nature. She loves to investigate everything and once managed to use her trunk to open the door of a truck. This kind of curiosity made Hong a natural candidate for artistic instruction. Two years ago, Hong began painting with her mahout, Noi Rakchang, and has steadily developed her skills. After learning how to paint flowers, she moved on to more advanced paintings. She now has two specialties. One is an elephant holding flowers with her trunk, and the other is the Thai flag. An elephant with so much control and dexterity is capable of amazing work. Just for clarification, with these realistic figural works, the elephant is still the only one making the marks on the paper but the paintings are learned series of brushstrokes not Hong painting a still life on her own.

If you want to see a gallery of elephant paintings and even purchase one, go here.

By the way, elephants aren't the only animals whose paintings are hung in galleries. There are several other four legged painters.


Above: A jack russell terrier named Tillie, with an impressive gallery of work, a schedule of showings and even a gift shop. (photos by Brooke Jacobs) See her whole site here


Above: Sammy, a foxhound mix, uses a paintbrush attached to a rubber bone to paint a canvas on June 12, 2007, at a gallery at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. Mary Stadelbacher, owner of Shore Service Dogs, has a collection of abstract paintings daubed by her three service dogs in training. (Photo: AP Photo/Matthew S. Gunby)


Above: Pinto, an accomplished painter for a Yucatan miniature pig, gets his snout into an original work of art on Feb. 23, 2006, at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. Using a selection of non-toxic primary colors, Pinto mixes them in innovative ways (hooves, snout, objects and sometimes food items) to create his one-of-a-kind masterpieces. (Photo: AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)


Above: Koopa, a Gulf Coast box turtle, creates a summer-themed custom ordered painting for a buyer in Australia at the home of his owner, Kira Varszegi in Hartford, Conn., on Aug. 24, 2004. Koopa's paintings sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars, and his pieces hang in 35 of the 50 states. (Photo: AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Louis Vuitton & Murakami Go Camo: Monogramouflage

Blogs are abuzz about the Murakami Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. But not so much about Murakami's own works, but more about the collaboration with Louis Vuitton's Marc Jacobs which yeilded Monogramouflage, a camo version of LV's famous monogram pattern, in both a light and dark version:



On April 3rd, Vuitton celebrated Takashi Murakami's "© Murakami" exhibition, a retrospective of the 46 year old artists' work, with a "Brooklyn Ball" at the Brooklyn Museum featuring a special performance by Kanye West, and the unveiling of the new camouflage print.



Currently the canvases (like the ones pictured below) are available in a limited edition of one hundred at the Brooklyn Museum in New York (but you can find several for sale on ebay at the moment) during an exhibition of Murakami’s work. Bags and other items featuring the new print will be available in June in the museum's hosted "pop up" store to coincide with the exhibit.

Below are images from the opening night and of the Monogramouflage canvases, which measure 16" x 16" each, are sold in a limited edition and are framed, boxed and come with letters of authenticity.










And some other images of the exhibit:

Above: "DOB in the Strange Forest" by Takashi Murakami, a 1999 FRP Resin, fiber glass and acrylic installation work, will be on display as part of the exhibition "Murakami" at the Brooklyn Museum in New York through July 13.

Above: "Second Mission Project ko2" by Takashi Murakami, a 1999 installation work consisting of oil paint, acrylic, synthetic resins, fiberglass and iron


Above left: "DOB Camouflage". Above right: "The Castle of Tin Tin" by Takashi Murakami, a 1998 acrylic on canvas work mounted on board

To see a Flickr set of some of the large installations from the exhibit, go here.

NOTCOT has some nice coverage of the 'counterfeit' aspect of the exhibit, Louis Vuitton's tongue in cheek way of fighting fakes, including some great pics of the 'faux' street vendors and more.

©Murakami'' continues through July 13 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway. Information: +1-718-638-5000; http://www.brooklynmuseum.org. The corporate sponsor is DLA Piper. The show travels next to the Museum fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

You can read a review of the show by Linda Yablonsky here.