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St. Andrey Rublyov.
The Trinity.
1420-th.
Tretyakov Art Gallery, Moscow.
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The New City Paper
#18 from may 4, 2001.
Spring «Izograf» is celebrating
A new exhibition of community artist's studio «Izograf» has opened
in the exhibition hall of The Novotrubnyi Plant Palace of Culture.
Naturally the main theme of paintings in the exhibition became springtime, when everything alive comes out of hibernation, when the air is fresher
and life feels keener.
From the very first wall of the exhibition the spectator receives the essentual portion of energy: from two paintings of J. Chutova, "Shock" and "Relaxation".
Such a contrast of feelings makes the spectator forget about everything that
is left behind the exhibition doors and become engrossed in the world of paintings, from the very first minutes. A world that is enchanting, captivating, lively. A world that became still only for a moment.
The somewhat abstract character of these two paintings tears the spectator from his ordinary environment and tunes him to the special wave of art perception.
After that the "multy-storied" and quite complicated painting of studio dire-
ctor V. Susanov "For the Modiliany memory" is perceived in the proper fashion, despite its realistic manner. Standing infront of that painting the visitor,
it seems, breaks through the confusion and chaos of life's routine to the art of the great painters of the last century.
Going further, the exhibition opens to us the perpetual and varied world
of the Ural spring. Paintings of V. Krivorotov "Spring near Podvoloshnaya",
"A small spot first relieved from the winter snow", and the series "Pine trees" perfectly, briefly and clearly pass all the beauty of our forest neigbourhood to the canvas. One gets the impression , that the author's paintings have been made exactly for the Ural people. Really, who, except us, can feel to the end
all the emotions, which emerge upon sighting of two pine-trees, hugging with their their roots and branches?
Who, except our compatriots, is able to see in it two people, whose destinies
lie together forever? Who can see in their trunks, covered with harsh, uneven and cracked bark the elegance of a human body?
However it's not right to think that the exhibition will always keep your mood in calm spring tranquility, that you will always have a peacefull fealing…
What I mean is that in our country spring is not only a time for joy, but also for sorrow. And the next two paintings remind us of that fact. The first one, created by V. Susanov, "Farewell", is devoted to the troops of the Ural Voluntary Tank Corps (of World War II fame).
A family is seeng off their son and husband
to the front. In their faces one can see sadness and fear. They don't want him to go, to take his place in the train, where on platforms liveless boxes of tanks are lined up. An air of danger and death exhuds from these tanks, painted in white. The soldier himself also doesn't want to part with his family, but... he can't stay. He must just go west, do this, despite everything. And he may never return...
The next painting is of O. Safin "Her life". It is addressed to us, the posterity
of those who saved the world from the brown plague, and broke the back
of the fashist beast. Like in a black-and-white movie, pictures of the old lady's life spring infront of us. The war, the smoking ruins of houses, and the young female hospital attendant, carrying a wounded soldier from the battleground.
The next picture shows us a barbed wire fence, German SS officers with dogs and women in some striped clothes ( the captivity scene). And, finally, our heroine is now an elderly women, with a shawl on her head and medals attached to her coat. Near her feet there is a small box, with crumbled notes, moving in the brease. She is begging now.
And again the organaisers of the exhibition return us to the spring theme.
In relation to this I would like to point out A. Styazhkin's paintings. Generally speaking, in the present exhibition the creative path of that artist is fully presented, from the earliest paintings to the latest ones. Here is, for example, "Narsisus".
It appears that that flower has got attitude. It exposed its petals, completely opened itself as if it is saying: "Look at me, how nice I am, not like you". A type in love with himself.
Or let's talk about A. Styazhkin's series of paintings dedicated to the unique
Siberian lake Baikal. The water looks real, one would even like to come closier
to listen to the crunching sound of sand under one's feet, to lower one's hands into the crystal clear cool water.
Another painting of that artist "View from a window" is a complete wave of energy. A litle bit more and the branch behind the window will swing.
Everything pictured by him differs from everything else in its almost photographic accuracy. The detailed work is striking and simply astonishing.
In his interviews the director of the studio V. Susanov constantly tells us about the fact that he is teaching his young artists to work not only with colour and light, but also with energy, sense, meaning.
"A painting must contain energy"- is his opinion.
From my point of view, this rule was mostly fully embodied in the painting
of O. Koshcheev "Alone". This artistic work breaks into smithereens some mercentile stereotypes.
We do not consider these people as human beengs,
we speak about them with hardly concealed squeamish feelings: they are beggers, homeless people. And here is a beggar on the painting. He is covered in rags, in a torn thread-bare coat, in old worn-out boots. His eyes are covered by the rim of a hat.
There are no eyes, no face-no person. But his hand pulls towards a small gray dog, he is searching his pocket for a piece of bread. Unconsciously he is aware of the fact that God didn't give dogs enough mind and life strength, so somebody must take care of them, like of our smaller brothers. This action of his characterises him as a Human Being. And, I guess, he will be like that always, despite everything that could happen to him in his life.
«Izograf» artists can treat colour as well as the meaning of their paintings.
A bright proof of this could be served the triptikh of A. Akzamov "Arctic".
One of the greatest avanguard artists of the last century shocked the public with his ability to pass to the canvas the heat of a red hot asian desert with only two colours- white and black.
Akzamov, also with two colours- black and silver-moonlight depicted the burning ice-cold, pressing soundlessness and the endless wideness of an arctic desert.
One is justified in considering the paintings of S. Vladimirova "Towards life" and of A. Styazhkin "Big water" as the lyrical end of the exhibition. The first one lets us understand that the warm and strong spring wind will take away
all the trobles, all the peel of yesterdays, and a new life will definatelly appear.
In A. Styazhkin's painting, presenting a river breaking it's shores in melted winter snows, the observer's sight feels tight inside the picture's frame.
One wishes to expand the frame, to complete the image. Something pulls him
to set free-there, where spring is coming, where life is boiling.
O'kay, it's time, our survey of the exhibition has come to an end, it's time to return to the ordinary world. Moreover, in this world, besides all the trobles there are many good things. Don't you think so? Please, go to the exhibition.
Dmitry Kon'kov.
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