"Painting reminds me of exploring a personal relationship to the semiotic boundary at which the tangible form of concreteness of one's own thought ends."
Stas Falkov is a contemporary artist whose work revolves around the concept of instability, both as a philosophical idea and an artistic practice. He explores the fluidity of boundaries between opposing forces, such as the personal and collective, the sacred and the profane, and abstraction and figuration. His art rejects static interpretations, instead inviting viewers into an ongoing dialogue with unfinished forms and ambiguous meanings.
Falkov’s creative journey began in Russia, where he co-founded the collective Kruzhok, an attempt at a utopian, horizontal community. Disillusionment with this ideal and the socio-political changes in Russia led him to develop a deeper focus on the instability of utopias. After emigrating to France in 2022, Falkov continued his practice, integrating the themes of exile, war, and personal transformation into his work.
One of Falkov’s central concepts, *Un Voyage Sans Fin*, embodies his exploration of life as an unceasing process of becoming. In this body of work, he deliberately avoids fixed outcomes, mirroring Deleuze’s concept of "rhizomatic" thinking, where ideas and experiences grow in multiple directions without hierarchy or predetermined end. Each piece evolves naturally, without a final destination, emphasizing the journey over the conclusion. This work invites viewers to embrace uncertainty, reflecting the philosophy of existentialism, where human existence is defined by perpetual movement toward unknown possibilities, rather than fixed meanings.
His recent project *Faux* crystallizes Falkov’s vision of instability as a generative space, drawing on the idea of the simulacrum from Jean Baudrillard. Conceptualized as an endless, imagined journey, *Faux* creates a space where the boundaries of reality and illusion blur, and meaning itself becomes unstable. The project challenges conventional structures of exhibitions, functioning not just as a physical installation but as a conceptual space of fluidity and open interpretation. By deliberately leaving his works unfinished, Falkov invokes Derrida's idea of *différance*, where meaning is always deferred and in process, never fully arriving at a conclusion. Elements of painting, sculpture, and spatial design constantly evolve, creating an immersive experience where time, space, and meaning shift, reflecting the instability of both art and life in the contemporary world.
In 2024, Falkov graduated from the École Supérieure d'Art et Design Le Havre-Rouen (ESADHaR) with a DNSEP degree, the French equivalent of a master's in fine arts, earning *Félicitations*—the highest distinction awarded for exceptional work.