Dmitry Lavrentjev is a contemporary artist working in various visual art mediums. The sculpture “Apocalypse” was one of the central pieces in the artist’s major solo exhibition of the same title, “Apocalypse” (November 22, 2023 - February 27, 2024, Art Platz Gallery, Riga, Latvia). Lavrentjev often uses unconventional materials in his work, imbuing his art with unique symbolism. He finds inspiration in the theory of English mystic Aleister Crowley, who suggested that the skull represents the Moon. Contrasting the solar system’s unity, this sculpture’s surface is intentionally deconstructed with small fragments of porcelain tiles, which the artist collected over several years along the seashore. These broken fragments of tiles, which the waves have shaped for more than 50 years, were thrown into the sea during the construction of the pier during the Soviet era. Through the merge of various narratives, Lavrentjev emphasises the interaction between the human-made environment and nature, where the transient and the unchanging coexist over time.

Dmitry Lavrentjev (1970) is a self-taught artist whose practice encompasses painting, sculpture, graphic art, and short films. His works are characterised by eccentricity, vivid colours, and emotional expressiveness, with sharp lines and seemingly distorted forms that define his unique style. Through symbols and archetypal imagery, Lavrentjev invites the viewer to delve into the depths of the human soul, touching upon the mystical and sacred dimensions of existence. Since 1995, Lavrentjev has organised 27 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 group shows in Latvia and abroad. His works are in private collections in Latvia, China, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, the UK, and the US, as well as in public collections including the Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts (Omsk, Russia), the National Centre for Contemporary Art in Minsk (Minsk, Belarus), the Vitebsk Modern Art Centre (Vitebsk, Belarus), the Rothko Museum (Daugavpils, Latvia), the Latvian Artists’ Union Museum (Riga, Latvia), and the Graphic Collection of the Latvian National Library (Riga, Latvia).

The artist’s signature and date are on the back of the sculpture.