TERRITORIES

Massimo De Carlo Pièce Unique presents TERRITORIES, the first solo exhibition by Vladislav Markov with the gallery. The exhibition features the artist staging three teenagers using earth, which covers the gallery floor, as the ground for nozhichki, a Soviet and post-Soviet children's game. In this game, players redraw borders by throwing a knife into a rival's territory, with players losing land being eliminated. Five paintings, derived from scans of the three players, are also displayed, showing bodies stretched and smeared.

Markov's wider practice involves installations, sculptures, and paintings built from scanned and 3D-printed material, often exploring themes of surveillance, simulation, and attention. TERRITORIES follows previous works like Objects in Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear (2025) and Location. Location. Location. (2026), which similarly involve barriers like one-way mirrors or screens that grant proximity but withhold entry. The exhibition draws a parallel to Walter De Maria's The New York Earth Room, but contrasts by having Markov's earth be actively used and altered, highlighting the potential for cruelty when ground becomes a site of conflict.