CONTEMPORARIES

MAMEDOV Rauf (1956) SchizoAdam and SchizoEve. Diptych. From the project “Exodus No. 1. SchizoAdam”. 2000. Color photography. 197.5 × 32.5 (in light, each part)

There are too few people in our world who are capable of moving forward without regard to public opinion, aggressive misunderstanding and fierce criticism. And Rauf Mamedov had to have a lot of courage to show his projects 20 years ago. I remember how badly he was harassed by the press in the early 2000s. Even “Kommersant”, open to everything new, wrote about him in such terms:
— “Rauf Mamedov's appealing for mercy photographs are palpably cringe-inducing”,
— “(the artist) for many years has shamelessly made his heroes appear not as saints, but as cruelly mocked clowns”,
— “has been speculating on mentally ill people for years”.

Why is it so? Critics didn't like the fact that the models for Rauf Mamedov's photo pictures were people with Down syndrome and people with schizophrenia. The painter occupied them in costumed productions on the subjects of pictures by old masters — Leonardo, Giotto, van Eyck and others. One could not accuse him of indifference or lack of understanding of psychological moments: in his youth, Mamedov worked as an orderly in a psychiatric hospital. But twenty years ago, at that stage of development of our society and culture, his artistic technique caused indignation and incomprehension in many people. Why does he have downers in The Last Supper? Why aren't regular professional actors involved? But that was part of the idea. The artist purposely invited people not of this world, devoid of our pragmatism and surrounded by barriers that separate them from society. Mamedov visualized the philosophical theory of Gilles Deleuze, his “schizoanalysis”, where madness can be interpreted as the highest form of liberation and the engine of progress.

Rauf Mamedov's photographic paintings are often conceptual quotations of old masters' masterpieces. In particular, our “SchizoAdam and SchizoEve” is a reference to the paintings on the sashes of the famous Ghent Altarpiece in Belgium, a mystical masterpiece by Jan van Eyck. Interestingly, the painting of the altar was also fiercely criticized for several hundred years. Rulers didn't like the way the artist depicted Adam and Eve. Why not painted beauties? Why that look? Why the look of misery on their faces? How dare he! What ugliness! Take it away at once! Or better yet, burn it! Dissatisfied with the sight of Adam and Eve, Austrian Emperor Joseph II in 1781 commanded the shutters to be removed. And 150 years later other fighters against “degenerate art” decided to say their piece. Occupying Ghent, the Nazis planned to destroy the altar completely. Van Eyck's masterpiece, in general, was saved only by a miracle.

Rauf Mamedov is a director, a graduate of VGIK. In the 1980s, he became known as the director of the films “The Isle of Lost Ships” and “The Maid of Rouen, nicknamed Pyshka”. The artistic project “Exodus No. 1. SchizoAdam” was first shown by Rauf Mamedov in 2000. At an exhibition in Aidan Gallery eight photographic paintings were hung in a form imitating an altar. And in February 2011, these works opened Rauf Mamedov's personal exhibition “Silentium” at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art in Ermolaevsky Lane, 17.

NASEDKIN Nikolay Nikolaevich (1954) Crimean cypresses. 2000. Oil on canvas. 90 × 140

An interesting intersection: Nikolay Nasedkin, like Rauf Mamedov, also once worked in a psychiatric hospital. He worked as an orderly in a violent department. More than once he had been there in dangerous situations and had seen all kinds of things. I would not claim that it directly influenced his artistic language. But this experience clearly affected the understanding of our world.

The artist, known for his works of gigantic size (when canvas was scarce, he primed sheets), received his basic education at the school of lacquer miniatures in Fedoskino. But then — the road we choose. Today Nikolay Nasedkin is one of the most powerful Russian abstract expressionists. He has a solo exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val and numerous gallery projects behind him. And his works have long been part of important contemporary art collections.

Today we have an exemplary collectible Nasedkin at auction. Abstract landscape, with his trademark black. Nasedkin described his relationship with this color as follows:
“Black is an abstract unit of my ignorance. We see the world, but that does not indicate that we understand it. Or we understand it to the extent of our peculiarities. It is a screen that shields us from an abyss that has neither beginning nor end. And from which there is no hiding. Black does not have a negative meaning for me. For me, it is metaphysical, religious...”

Nasedkin is really a virtuoso with this color. If you are lucky enough to see his painting “Karaite Cemetery”, at first it will seem to you simply black. But in a minute you will see these slabs and fallen tree trunks, as the artist saw it in his beloved Crimea, in Bakhchisarai. And now we have the Crimea in front of us again, a landscape with cypresses. Laconic, powerful, metaphorical. A real find from a famous private collection.

And now from the Crimea let's move on to the aliens! Two works by contemporary artists, united by the same theme. “Friendship” by Bob Koshelokhov and, to paraphrase, “Damn you, earthlings!” by Andrey Bartenev.

KOSHELOKHOV Boris (Bob) Nikolaevich (1942) Friendship. 1996. Upholstery fabric, oil. 149 × 100

This picture is painted on upholstery fabric, as Koshelokhov did thirty to forty years ago. The idea of using discarded materials found in garbage dumps is the result of communication with the philosopher and artist Valery Kleverov. In the mid-1970s, “Klever” taught Koshelokhov to create works of art without using conventional art materials and techniques. Say, everyone can smear paint on canvas, but try to achieve expressiveness without it. Without canvases and paints, Bob Koshelokhov was forced to switch to “concepts” — assemblages, collages and readymades from scrap materials. This once led to a curiosity. In 1976, after Evgeny Rukhin died in a fire (there is still an opinion that it was a political murder), the St. Petersburg nonconformists decided to hold an exhibition in his honor. Naturally, the authorities decided to stop them. They simply instructed the police to arrest anyone who brought paintings to the exhibition site. The police carried out their orders perfectly. Everyone was caught, except Koshelokhov. He was not holding a canvas, but an assemblage with a hospital duck. And since there is no painting, it means he is not an artist.

But the paintings did come out. In oil, with palette knife. True, not on «glamorous» canvases, but on mattress cloth, on sheets, on carpet runners, in accordance with Kleverov's precept. And instead of stretchers — the scraps of crates and beds. At the end of the 1970s, Koshelokhov became one of the leaders of Leningrad unofficial art. He invented the association “Chronicle” and later became the ideologist of the Association for Experimental Fine Art (TEFA).

Before us is the work of Bob Koshelokhov, written 25 years ago. «Friendship» of two alien creatures. Oil on sofa upholstery fabric. One and a half meter size. Bright, expressive manner. Unconditional collectible value!

BARTENEV, Andrey Dmitrievich (1965) F… you, earthlings! 2017. Fabric, embroidery, applique, mixed technique. 32 × 32

Bartenev's “aliens”, unlike Koshelokhov's, are overconfident and boorish guests. To the unknown request of the earthlings they responded with a rude, categorical and obscene refusal. But never mind. Not yet evening. We'll see who's who.

Andrey Bartenev himself has been our main alien since the early 1990s. The outrageous artist and fashion designer likes to appear in something indescribably bright and absurd. Those who still watch TV know Bartenev as the host of “Fashion Verdict” program. In his creative work, this celebrity man considers himself a follower of the ideas of Russian futurism. Although Burliuk with spoons in the buttonholes of his jackets is definitely not a fighter against Bartenev's flamboyant images. Today Bartenev is a global star. He is often invited to make costumes and scenography for theatrical productions in the USA and Europe, to curate and create designs for exhibition projects.

1960s UNOFFICIAL ART

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Self-portrait in a hat. 1966. Paper on cardboard, black pencil, oil. 44 × 32.5

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Portrait of Alexandra Pakhmutova. 1969. Paper, ink. 40 × 28.5

Two portraits by Anatoly Zverev from the valuable period of the 1960s. A painted and a graphic one. One depicts him himself, and the other depicts the legendary Alexandra Pakhmutova, Soviet composer, the author of the songs “Belovezhskaya Pushcha”, “Do You Know What Kind of Guy He Was”, “The Battle Continues Again”, “A Coward Does Not Play Hockey”, “How Young We Were” and many, many others. Pakhmutova is a hero of socialist labor, a living legend. Not everyone knows that she was a child prodigy. She wrote her first musical piece at the age of five, even before music school. And her first public performance took place when the girl was eight. Pakhmutova's creative biography now includes more than 400 songs, dozens of which will be instantly remembered by anyone who grew up in the USSR. In particular, it was Pakhmutova's song that was played at the closing ceremony of the 1980 Olympics.

Where did Pakhmutova meet Zverev? Under what circumstances did this portrait appear? The collector, the owner of the drawing, said that Zverev met Pakhmutova at his muse Oksana Aseeva's dacha. The women were friends. So don't miss the opportunity: a portrait of the great official composer by a distinguished unofficial artist.

BELENOK Petr Ivanovich (1938–1991) Breakthrough. 1991. Paper, colored ink, collage, mixed technique. 84 × 61

Powerful graphics by the ideologist of panic realism. Petr Belenok's works are the hits of our auctions. In recent years, his work has attracted increased attention of collectors and connoisseurs of painting. Perhaps because the ideas and energy embedded in his work are becoming relevant again at a distance. Especially at a time when history seems to take a second turn — at a time when we again operate with the term «stagnation», when the conflict with the West is escalating, when the hopelessness of public life is felt again. No wonder that good artists are endowed with the gift of foresight. Their metaphors are getting brighter over the years, and their prophecies are more alarming.

GRIGORIEV Alexander Efimovich (1949) Composition. 1968–2007. Tempera on cardboard. 70 × 70

In 1967, Alexander Yefimovich Grigoriev became a member of the famous group “Movement”, which included Nusberg, Infante, Koleichuk and others. During those years Grigoriev worked as an architect at the Institute of Experimental Architectural Design. Soon after joining the kineticists, he began to paint his own geometric paintings. Most of those early works remained in Nusberg's collection, which the founder of “Movement” took to the United States. Therefore, in the 2000s, Grigoriev made authorial repetitions of those works when preparing them for exhibitions. Today we see the author's repetition of the kinetic composition of 1968, made in 2007. The author's commentary on this matter is made on the back of this tempera.

STEINBERG Eduard Arkadevich (1937–2012) Composition (January 1980). 1980. Oil on canvas. 73 × 53

The son of the camp artist Arkady Steinberg, a disciple of the camp artist Boris Sveshnikov, an outstanding representative of underground art. One of the most recognizable periods in his work remains the cycle of geometric abstraction — the debate and dialogue with Suprematism, which began in the 1970s. Before us is an exemplary piece of this cycle. The geometric composition, painted more than 40 years ago, without restoration, in time, is a find for a connoisseur's collection.

KAZARIN Victor Semyonovich (1948–2021) Cat. 2003. Oil on canvas. 80 × 70

The outstanding Russian neo-expressionist Viktor Semyonovich Kazarin died on February 1, 2021. The dawn of Viktor Kazarin's artistic career began in the mid-1970s. That is to say, formally, he was not a sixties man. But definitely Victor Semyonovich was a non-conformist — all his life he went his own way. They wanted to kick him out of the institute for formalism, twice expelled him from the beloved City Committee of Graphics — once for a fight, then for “behavior”. But he did not change: he did what he wanted and said what he wanted. In the mid-1970s, Kazarin began to apply his method of «overstraining» — hours of intensive work drove himself into a kind of trance, when pure psychophysiology began to work instead of the mind. In this charged state, when the body worked at its limits, masterpieces of pure expressionism were born.

Today's “Cat” is a museum-level work, an exemplary Kazarin, bright, inspired, with a unique energy. This is exactly the kind of “characteristic” Kazarin that collectors are after.