SACRED ART Image · Matter · Transformation
Pantocrator: Multiplicity of the Image
The series operates as a foundational cultural and philosophical excavation within Margo Alison Subbotina’s broader artistic trajectory. Synthesizing her background in monumental restoration from the Stroganov Academy with her postgraduate research in cultural studies at MGIMO University, Subbotina isolates the historical sacred image not as a theological dogma, but as a primary psychological «shell»—a rigid cultural canon designed to stabilize human consciousness across centuries.
This collection represents a personal artistic endeavor to comprehend the boundary between these diametrically opposed perspectives and to decode the visually contrasting manifestations of the same sacred presence — from the ethereal, linear beauty of the Christ of the Golden Hair (Ангел Златые Власы) to the stern, majestic monumentality of the Christ Pantocrator. By working with archaic mediums—such as oil, egg tempera, and raw wood panels stripped of traditional levkas gesso—Margo Alison strips away the institutional framework of religious art to expose the raw friction between the transcendent and the visceral human experience.
THE INTERCONGRESSIONAL AND SEMIOTIC AMBIVALENCE
The ultimate conceptual core of this research rests upon the semiotic instability of sacred symbols across shifting cultural borders. On a global, inter-religious level, the figure of Christ operates as a deeply ambiguous and volatile signifier: unconditionally recognized within the Christian dogma as the God-man, He is fundamentally re-contextualized in Islamic tradition strictly as a prophet, while remaining entirely unacknowledged within the theological boundaries of Judaism.
By documenting this profound cross-cultural friction directly onto the tactile, fractured surface of her panels, Subbotina transforms The Archetype into a comparative study of visual memory. This series marks the definitive evolutionary precursor to The Shell series: here, the artist maps the boundaries of the absolute canonical form, establishing the structural baseline before enacting its radical material deconstruction through the shattered mirrors and putty fissures of her later masterworks
THE SACRED IMAGE — REINTERPRETED exploring sacred imagery through the language of contemporary art.
The Contemporary Sacred Art series engages with images rooted in Christian visual tradition, including different interpretations of the Pantocrator, the Belozerskaya Icon, the Trinity and the idea of the spiritual journey. The artist does not seek to reproduce canonical icons. Instead, historical sacred imagery becomes a starting point for an individual investigation into presence, faith, memory, transformation and the relationship between the human and the transcendent. The works exist between painting, sacred image and contemporary object.
Contemporary interpretations of Christian sacred imagery through painting, stone and object.
Christ Pantocrator (Double-sided artwork), 2026
Original egg tempera on wood (without levkas)
Recto: 24k gold leaf | Verso: Silver leaf
70 × 40 × 5 cm
Христос Пантократор (Двусторонняя работа), 2026
Авторская яичная темпера на деревянной доске (без левкаса)
Лицевая сторона: сусальное золото 24K | Оборотная сторона: сусальное серебро
70 × 40 × 5 см
Margo Alison Subbotina, Contemporary Sacred Art, Christ Pantocrator, theological art research, interfaith conceptual art, egg tempera on wood, egg tempera on marble, 24k gold leaf. silver leaf art, Christian iconography reinterpretation.
Medium: Original egg tempera on monochrome marble, 24k gold leaf
Dimensions: 15 × 15 cm / 5.9 × 5.9 in
Status: Unique piece
Concept:
The artwork presents a curated interpretation of the traditional image of Christ Pantocrator. Through a calculated dialogue between monochrome marble, egg tempera, and gold leaf, the work explores the intersection of ancient visual language, presence, and inner transformation, while preserving the natural texture and color of the stone substrate.
This piece advances a rigorous, long-term investigation into the human face and the structures of identity—bridging the artist’s background in performance and acting with the formal plasticity of contemporary painting.
Concept:
In this piece, the sacred imagery is integrated directly into the raw, tectonic density of natural granite. Conceptually referencing the iconic tradition of the Christ Pantocrator of Sinai, the composition allows the raw stone to break through the layers of egg tempera.
This visual transparency manifests the profound theological tension between the earthly and the transcendent, utilizing the enduring quality of the volcanic rock to bridge historical iconography with contemporary mixed-media art
Medium: Original egg tempera on granite, 24k gold leaf
Dimensions: 15 × 20 cm / 5.9 × 7.9 in
Status: Unique piece
Structural diptych
Medium: Original egg tempera on natural granite, cubic substrate, 24k gold leaf
Dimensions: 10 × 8 cm / 3.9 × 3.1 in each
Status: Diptych / Unique pieces
Concept:
This structural diptych advances the series’ core theological inquiry by translating the sacred image into a three-dimensional cubic form. The conceptual framework relies on sacred geometry: the unfolding of a Christian cross into a volumetric cube, establishing a calculated dialogue between the perfect circle of the halo, the rigid geometry of the stone block, and the sacred presence of the face.
The two objects exist in a strict dialectical tension. The first cube integrates iconic figuration with a 24k gold leaf halo and subtle painterly expansions on its lateral facets. The second cube preserves the raw, unpainted density of the volcanic rock, counterbalancing the iconography with pure sterling silver leaf on its sides. Together, they manifest the metaphysical transition between the divine light (gold) and earthly transfiguration (silver), allowing the raw granite to break through the layers of egg tempera.
Medium: Original egg tempera on natural granite, cubic substrate, 24k gold leaf/sterling silver leaf
Dimensions: 10 × 8 cm / 3.9 × 3.1 in each
Status: Diptych / Unique pieces
the iconography with pure sterling silver leaf on its sides
with iconic figuration
with iconic figuration
Back side
ARCHITRAVE: THE EXPULSION OF THE FACE AND THE LOGIC OF THE LIGHT
The «Architrave» project operates as a rigorous cross-cultural artistic research at the intersection of apofatic theology, archaeology of support, and cultural studies. In architecture, the architrave is the primary beam that bears the monumental weight of the superstructure; in Margo Alison Subbotina’s conceptual framework, it represents the core transcendental pillar of human consciousness, shifting through various confessional interfaces.
By pairing the volcanic granite stela of Maryam with the raw fresco miniature of Buddha, the artist bypasses traditional dogmatic divisions to explore the common neurological and mystical code of human spiritual insulation. The focus shifts entirely from the figurative representation of the deity to the physical materiality of the medium (Granite and Fresco) and the ontological status of the Divine Light.
Concept: Executed on a monumental block of natural volcanic granite, this two-sided stela stands as a radical manifestation of the Lacanian Real confronting the sacred text. Following the strict aniconic laws of Islamic prophetic tradition, the artist has completely neutralized and erased the physical face of Prophet Isa (Jesus), replacing figurative anthropomorphism with an «apofatic vacuum» charged with pure energy. The prophetic countenance is manifested exclusively through Noor—the uncreated divine light—rendered via fragmented, vibrating burst strokes of 24k gold leaf.
The reverse side of the stela utilizes the method of radical subtraction: through a performative trial under running water, the human artistic ego was erased, leaving the natural tectonic fractures of the granite to reveal a non-man-made (acheiropoieta) structural heart. Out of these very geological faults, silver-leafed prophetic birds organically «grow» and break free from the stone, accompanied by fine micro-pearl matrices that trace the mineral veins. Insulated with local layers of Florentine Zecchi copal lacquer that creates a deep, amber icon-like lens over the paint while leaving the surrounding stone raw and tactile, the stela functions as a 360-degree ritual object, documenting the exact threshold where nature and transcendence fuse.
Medium: Volumetric natural granite stela, genuine oil, zinc, Prussian blue, iron oxide, 24k gold leaf, sterling silver leaf, micro-pearls, Florentine Zecchi copal lacquer.
Dimensions: 21 × 10 × 8 cm
Status: Core Piece / Architrave Project (360-Degree Exposition Setup)
ARTIFACT II: Gautama (The Silent Anubhava), 2022–2026
Medium: Original mineral fresco and egg tempera on lime mortar base, 24k dry gold, pigments.
Dimensions: 20 × 14 cm
Status: Core Piece / Architrave Project
Concept: Created in 2022 and finalized in 2026, this artifact adopts the ancient monumental technique of wet fresco and egg tempera, operating as an archaeological fragment excavated from a liminal, cave-like space of consciousness. The posture and the serene, Eurasian-Scythian casting of the protagonist’s features reference the deep cultural shift between Northern European and Eastern/Asiatic visual codes.
In sharp contrast to the ecstatic, fiery Christian-Islamic Noor of the granite stela, the halo of the Buddha is treated through the ontology of Shunyata (absolute void) and Anubhava (the quietude of enlightenment). The celestial radiance does not sit on top of the image but breathes from within the ancient material itself, expanding on a wide orbit behind the high crown. The work stands as a profound monument to ascetic isolation, where human language collapses into the absolute, vibrating silence of the medium.