1960s UNOFFICIAL ART

STEINBERG Eduard Arkadevich (1937–2012) Composition. 1979. Oil on canvas. 65 × 85

The exemplary Steinberg of the late 1970s. Even before France, before emigration, before the Claude Bernard Gallery. This is the Moscow-Tarusian Steinberg. And this is the high point of his explorations into the depths of suprematist abstraction. This particular painting is distinguished by the complexity of composition and high geometric decorativeness. This is not the first time we are exhibiting works from this period. But in all of them Steinberg was more laconic and, one might say, more cautious. And here — a surge of emotion, the dance of the suprematist symbols. The piece is of museum level and at a reasonable price. The new owner can be envied in advance. The authenticity of the work is confirmed by Valery Silaev's conclusion.

SVESHNIKOV Boris Petrovich (1927–1998) Death in July. 1970s. Oil on canvas. 60 × 69

One should not look for anything too visionary or prophetic in the brave and nonconformist non-commercial title of the painting “Death in July”. Sveshnikov painted it at the age of forty (the peak of creative powers for an artist), with a long life ahead of him. And he was buried in September.

The painting is amazing. Another artist, Anatoly Slepyshev, once said that it is very easy to distinguish a good painting from a bad one. A bad painting starts to get boring, while a good one reveals new meanings. And in this sense, “Death in July” is an absolute masterpiece. Within a few days in our office, the strange lady depicted on the canvas, which at first seemed repulsive, became our favorite. The painting mystically blossomed every day as the buds of young flowers. Gradually it became clear that it was not a drama but a celebration before us. A triumph of cheerful humility. Apocalyptic furore with vanitas logic. For what it's worth, but in the otherworlds the camp resident Sveshnikov knew exactly what it was.

The painting comes from the collection of Piero Savoretti, an Italian entrepreneur who arranged the purchase of the FIAT plant for Togliatti in the 1960s. The work is accompanied by an expert report.

VECHTOMOV Nikolay Evgenievich (1923–2007) Systems. 1991. Oil on canvas. 60 × 80

Late Vechtomov with his main theme — the aesthetics of cosmism and the dialogue of biomorphic systems. This is not his most common color scheme — probably the third most rare.

Expert Valery Silaev notes that “Systems” refers to the cosmogonic cycle, in which the author seeks to show his understanding of the universe and planetary harmony. The painting could have museum value.

SLEPYSHEV Anatoly Stepanovich (1932–2016) Cavalcade. 1980s. Oil on canvas. 81 × 100

A rare blue color scheme and subject that does not often appear on the auction market. Slepyshev is an artist of bright red and green. And here is the romantic blue, haze and ladies in saddles, as if from the time of Pushkin and Lermontov.

GOROKHOVSKY Eduard Semenovich (1929–2004) Russians in California. 2003. Oil on canvas. 97 × 116

Late spectacular photogram of sixties photographer Eduard Gorokhovsky. He referred to compositions made in his own particular style as photograms. Gorokhovsky was close to the so-called Sretensky Boulevard group, which included Kabakov, Bulatov, Yankilevsky, Pivovarov and others. The Gorokhovsky's paintings are in the Russian Museum and in the Tretyakov Gallery.

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Self-portrait with smudges. 1962. Oil on paper. 60 × 42

The title is the author's. It is a rare case where Zverev himself wrote the title on the back of the sheet. Valuable period of the early 1960s. A valuable confessional theme. And virtuoso expressive technique. Zverev experiments, he uses a tube like a palette knife, pours the sheet with solvent, and the oil flows, creating a “watercolor” effect. This is Zverev at his best. And the verdict of the expert Valery Silaev is unequivocal — museum value.

KANDAUROV Otari Zakharovich (1937) Vozhdelenin. 2012. Plywood, papier-mâché, assemblage. 50 × 50 × 17

Otari Kandaurov was an artist of the sixties, a co-organizer and participant in the famous exhibition in the pavilion “Beekeeping” (1975), an organizer of the “Gorkom” (painting section at the City Committee of Graphic Artists) — an oasis of independent art in the merciless desert of socialist realism.

“Vozhdelenin” is a collective image, a voluptuous character named from the word “lust”. “Lenin” has nothing to do with it. The composition is three-dimensional, complex. It is a bas-relief with a papier-mâché mask. Kandaurov sculpted the figure out of plasticine. And then a mould was made for it and papier-mâché was poured.

LEMPORT Vladimir Sergeevich (1922–2001) Needlewoman. 1987. Bronze, patina. 48 × 24 × 20

Vladimir Lemport — “L” from the legendary group of innovative sculptors “LeSS” (Lemport, Silis, Sidur). On his return from the war, the young frontier order bearer entered Stroganov institute, where he met his future friends. The daring sculptors had to fight their way into the upper echelon of the Soviet monumental art. The Soviet sculpture mafia viewed them as a threat. And rightly so. In 1954 the group LeSS was deprived of the first prize of the All-Union competition on the project of a monument in honor of 300th anniversary of Ukraine and Russia reunification. They did not keep quiet and wrote an article “Against monopoly in sculpture”. Vuchetich's group got more gray hair. But the forces turned out to be unequal. LeSS group projects stopped being approved and official orders were not given. Some of their finished works were defiantly destroyed. But the history of art is not written in newspapers. Sculptors became famous figures of the art underground. In the 1970s, the Lemport and Silis studio became a closed club for unofficial artists, poets, bards, and members of the liberal intelligentsia. Lemport's art was perhaps the most romantic of the LeSS members. Whereas his colleagues had a humanistic agenda at the forefront, Vladimir Sergeyevich had a focus on plastic beauty and harmony. “Needlewoman” is a very characteristic work by Lemport. Very light in the decorative sense. And very heavy in the sense of its physical mass.

CONTEMPORARY ART

CHAHAL Gor (1961) Golden Woman. 2001. Multimedia, canvas, print. 200 × 60

A pioneer of Russian multimedia art, Gor Chahal bases his philosophy on the Christian understanding of the world. He often uses religious symbolism and allegorical metaphors — fish, graal vessels, etc. In the aesthetics of the canvas “Golden Woman” one can notice analogies with the Shroud, washed frescoes and even the flames of the autodafe. However, this is already a spectator's interpretation. And in the art of Chahal it is better to know the origins of the idea, with the text in the first person.

Gor Chahal uses computer modelling for his compositions. The finished project is transferred to canvas and authorized by the author's signature.