Sasha’s childhood hobby grew with him: years later, the artist and subject designer Braulov, co-founder of 52 Factory, turned the hobby into a project, including drawing attention to architecture — preserved and lost.

Anyone who follows the subject design in Russia is probably familiar with 52 Factory: since 2014, the duo of Sasha Braulov and Nasya Kopteva has been creating furniture, decor and accessories, marked, for example, by the New York MoMA. Despite the fact that 52 Factory is a family business, the embroidery project is still a little more personal, including because Braulov conducts it independently, but always with the caveat: “Nasenka always helps with advice and supports, and it costs a lot”” 

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The designer approaches what to depict on the fabric responsibly: “I usually choose a structure with some amazing history or one that is in disrepair (unfortunately, this has been happening quite often lately) in order to somehow draw attention to the problem that has arisen,” says Sasha. — For example, in St. Petersburg there are Ushakov baths — one of the most unique objects, an amazing example of suprematist constructivism, created, among other things, under the influence of paintings by Kazimir Malevich. It has been collapsing for several years now. I want to go there with the onset of spring and embroider a lot of work on the spot. To be honest, I’ve never done this before. I’ve wanted to for a long time, but it didn’t work out. I did this format of work with the Red Nail Man water tower, but it was at home (now the work is in the collection of the Russian Museum, by the way). I think that I will do about the same: I will take an 80 cm wooden stretcher, make a sketch on the fabric and embroider in the fresh air””

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When asked how the creative process is going and whether there is a clear plan with a “deadline”, Sasha answers: “At the initial stages, I set myself the goal of doing about 100-150 works. But then I realized that this was a pointless idea. I like the architecture of the avant-garde, I want more people to know about its significance and the importance of preservation for future generations. Now there are more than 230 works, and something tells me that this is far from the limit””

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There is every reason for such reasoning. Recently, some of Braulov’s architectural embroideries returned from Kazakhstan: at the end of last year, an exhibition was held in Almaty, especially for which Sasha embroidered several Alma-Ata structures. And in April, a solo exhibition is planned in his native St. Petersburg, about which, as well as about the following, the designer talks with caution: “I hope you can see some new works and large canvases there. If everything works out, then this year it will be possible to see embroidery in several more cities of Russia. There are also plans for a series about the architecture of Kolomna (a district in St. Petersburg), but it will be more like some kind of phantasmagoric works”” Now Sasha has started a new architectural series dedicated to Soviet modernism: “Sovmod is a logical continuation of the avant-garde and also deserves a lot of attention. If with the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s the situation begins to gradually change in the public consciousness, then modernism is just beginning to pay attention””

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Usually the designer embroiders his works on a piece of fabric measuring 15 x 20 cm, but experiments also happen, as a rule, when the embroidery goes to an exhibition or to another owner (yes, some of the works can be purchased: at Didi Gallery, through an auction or by contacting the designer directly). For the international festival “Art Prospect” Sasha prepared works of several meters in size. “Until recently there was an interesting order with the House of the People’s Commissariat of Finance,” Braulov shares. – A work under two meters long, which combines architectural and plot motifs with children, robots, etc. It’s difficult to do such things, but it’s very interesting”” 

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