MASTERPIECES

STEINBERG Eduard Arkadevich (1937–2012) Composition. 2000. Oil on canvas. 146 × 89

One and a half meter Steinberg of amazing beauty and the highest museum level. This is a classic subject for one of the main representatives of the second avant-garde. The laconic language of Suprematism, a dialogue with Malevich, but at the same time a very special aestheticism. No wonder one of his first teachers was “Petrovich” — Boris Petrovich Sveshnikov. Steinberg was close to the Sretensky Boulevard group, to which Kabakov, Yankilevsky, Neizvestny, Sooster are usually attributed. Eduard Arkadevich participated in the iconic exhibitions at the Druzhba Palace of Culture in 1967 and the Beekeeping Pavilion at VDNKh in 1975. Since the late 1980s Steinberg worked in Paris. He collaborated with the famous Claude Bernard Gallery (where this work, among others, was purchased). Steinberg spent his last summers in his beloved Tarusa. Now his house is home to his museum under the auspices of the Pushkin Museum.

NEMUKHIN Vladimir Nikolaevich (1925–2016) Solitaire No. 3. 1985. Canvas, mixed media. 79 × 72

The eighties are a particularly valuable period in the work of Nemukhin. All the basic discoveries are made, a unique toolkit and recognizable artistic style is formed. Despite the “suprematic” laconism, Nemukhin at heart — impressionist and romantic. He snatches out, reinterprets and implements the creative discoveries not only of the artists of Malevich's circle, but also the tools of “spatiality” of Lucio Fontana. In particular, Nemukhin's cuts and white reliefs are, apparently, homage, dialogue and tribute to the Italian innovator. “Solitaire No. 3” is a work of incredible complexity and power. An unquestionable museum level. Recall that Vladimir Nemukhin is an artist of the Lianozovo group, a participant of the Bulldozer exhibition, one of the main figures of post-war unofficial art.

1960s UNOFFICIAL ART

NEIZVESTNY Ernst Iosifovich (1925–2016) Silver rose. 1979. Oil on canvas. 70 × 91

Neizvestny's paintings are concentrated volumes transferred to the plane. Inside each of his paintings “a monument is crawling” (to paraphrase the words of Andrey Voznesensky). It is not so much the color ratios that are important, but the depth of the sculptural design. And the painting “Silver rose” is fully subject to this logic. It is not a painting but a sculpture on canvas. A giant work of jewelry art realized in oil on canvas.

Ernst Neizvestny was a front-line soldier, war hero. In the 1960s he became one of the most uncompromising figures in art, standing in opposition to the hypocritical, opportunistic academic mainstream. Neizvestny clashed with Khrushchev and his entourage at the exhibition in the Manege in 1962. And for many years he remained in disgrace. In 1976, Neizvestny emigrated to the United States where he opened a studio. “Silver Rose” was written already in America. The authenticity of the work is attested to by the artist's daughter, Olga Neizvestnaya.

MIKHNOV-VOITENKO Evgeny Grigorievich (1932–1988) Abstract composition. 1979. Oil on canvas. 52.5 × 48.5

Yevgeny Mikhnov-Voytenko, a Leningrad non-conformist, categorically disliked publicity and shunned politics. So much so that he did not even participate in resonant exhibitions of unofficial art in the Nevsky Palace of Culture and the Gaza Palace of Culture. One of the main innovators of abstract expressionism, he worked almost his entire life into the desk. To hold the first solo exhibition, friends persuaded him for several years. As a result, it took place when the artist was already 46 years old (and he died at 56). He earned his living by working at an art factory, made custom decorative panels and signs.

The exhibited abstraction has an impeccable provenance that can be traced back to the 1980s. It has been in the collection of Alexander Reznikov since 2009. And it has participated in several large exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at the “New Museum” in St. Petersburg in 2010 and the “Moscow Underground” in Venice in 2012.

VULOKH Igor Alexandrovich (1938–2012) Abstract composition. 1970s. Paper on hardboard, oil. 86 × 59

The museum level of this work is eloquently demonstrated by the stack of exhibition catalogs in which it has been published. In particular, this piece traveled to Venice for the “Moscow Underground” exhibition in 2012. And in 2013, it graced Vulokh's retrospective at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. This is a masterpiece of meditative conventionality by one of the most distinctive masters of the post-war orbit of unofficial art. A large, laconic and expressive piece that would be a jewel in any collection.

GROSITSKY Andrey Borisovich (1934–2017) Sublimation. 1979. Hardboard, oil. 104 × 51

If you don't immediately recognize Grositsky, that's fine. This painting is an exception in his work. The artist was solving not a poetic, but a conceptual problem. This story is a narrative about the disappearance of a painting. The surface of the work dissolves into air — so from the real world the painting goes into eternity.

Andrey Grositsky was not a member of the well-known nonconformist art groups and schools. He was a participant in a group exhibition at the House of Culture pavilion at VDNKh in 1975, and from 1976 he exhibited at the City Committee of Graphic Artists on Malaya Gruzinskaya 28. At the end of his life, Grositsky's exhibitions were held at the Tretyakov Gallery and several leading museums in the country. In the last two years, the prices of his works have increased roughly threefold.

The painting “Sublimation” participated in the exhibition “Moscow Underground” and was published in the catalog of 2012.

ZLOTNIKOV Yuri Savelievich (1930–2016) Composition. 1971. Paper, gouache. 61 × 86

Yuri Zlotnikov belongs to those artists with whose names the history of “Other Art” begins. On the first pages of the guidebook there is a story about how in 1956 the young artist Yuri Zlotnikov developed “signal systems” — an innovative type of psychophysiological abstraction, graphically fixing human bio-impulses. Zlotnikov was fascinated by science — physics, cybernetics. He listened carefully to his scientist friends to invent an artistic language to describe human psychosomatics. He himself was not a scientist. The tasks he undertook would today be called the development of an intuitive user interface. And our “Composition” of 1971 is an example of the artist's confident step in this direction.

Zlotnikov's gouache was previously in the collection of Alexander Reznikov, participated in the exhibition “Moscow Underground” and was published in the catalog of 2012.

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Crucifixion. 1981. Hardboard, oil. 78 × 55

Inspirational, powerful, explosive Zverev. An expressive reading of the biblical story. The work, written in the same breath. Not to order, not for the public, but for himself. The work will attract connoisseurs and courageous collectors who are not afraid of complex topics.