David Burliuk is the father of Russian futurism, the artist of the Russian avant-garde. At the beginning of the century, they, together with their friend Mayakovsky, slapped the public taste: they walked around with painted faces, with a spoon in their buttonhole, and they shocked the public. There is evidence that it was Burliuk who persuaded the shy Mayakovsky not to hide his poems and concentrate on poetry. Then fate dispersed them. Burliuk emigrated from Russia and settled in America.

Regular viewers of our channel know that Sveshnikov's “grave” stories are a complex dispute with fate, a form of the “vanitas” genre — a reflection on the meaning, purpose and frailty of life. He knew what he was talking about, because more than once he was on the verge of life and death.

Andrey Grositsky was an artist in the orbit of unofficial art. He was called the “poet of things”. For Grositsky, not only aesthetics was important, but also the spirit of the object. The metaphysics of the object world remained his field of research throughout his life. He transformed shovels, meat grinders, rusty latches into semi-abstract portraits of things of stunning beauty and depth. Grositsky was lucky to live to be recognized. Nowadays, he can certainly be called a favorite of collectors.

What many consider Sveshnikov's Kafkaesque romance is actually a sublimation of the difficult and traumatic memories of his youth. At 19, he was arrested on a trumped-up case of preparing an assassination attempt on Stalin and sent to the camps almost to certain death. Sveshnikov quickly lost his health and was driven to the brink of madness by starvation and disease. But he survived by a miracle thanks to the help of his friends, and his drawing sessions helped him keep his sanity. The works of the 1980s are considered by many connoisseurs to be the pinnacle of Sveshnikov's art. His phantasmagorias were becoming more and more complex in terms of subject, and painting was reaching the highest degree of elaboration.

Former official sculptor Petr Belenok exchanged a well-fed life in Ukraine for the thorny path of an underground artist in Moscow. He lived in poverty. And today he is one of the most sought-after artists of the post-war unofficial art. Prices for the best paintings have doubled over the past year and are regularly storming the million-ruble mark.

Artist of the Lianozovo group. Participant of the historical exhibition in the “Beekeeping” pavilion in 1975. A distinctive master, whom colleagues called “a preacher of the good”. The famous collector and enthusiastTalochkin pointed out that Kharitonov's paintings are “a small gem, iridescent in hundreds of colorful and semantic shades”. And his technique resembles “a shimmering mosaic of fine smalt”.

The innovator of metaphysical still life, an intellectual, a loner, an artist out of time, a recluse, shunning fashion and current trends. Today Dmitry Krasnopevtsev is one of the most expensive and sought-after masters of unofficial postwar art. The artist is still a favorite of collectors, as it was in the times of Richter, Costakis, Sanovich.

Vyacheslav Kalinin , an artist of the 1960s, created his own very recognizable style, which has been called “carnivalism” — from the word carnival. Very aptly. Kalinin's characters are almost always fun. The regulars in his paintings are broken ladies, drunkards, and cheerful artist friends. His works are very moody, phantasmagoric, with elements of cubist deconstruction. And “A beer bar in Serpukhov” — a model example of the genre. A large, powerful painting. Published. The main theme. A jewel in the collection.

Vladimir Nemukhin deeply understood and appreciated the Russian avant-garde. And often entered into an extramural dialogue with its masters. In particular, in this composition, experts see Nemukhin's conversation with El Lissitzky and polemic in the territory of Suprematism. At the same time, the original symbols of Nemukhin's card theme are harmoniously woven into the composition: a part of a deck, a card table, a candlestick.

It is believed that Sokolniki is the cradle and “domain” of Zverev. There he once went to classes at the local art studio. There he was noticed by the sister of actor and choreographer Alexander Rumnev, who became Zverev's mentor and patron for several years. It was at the painting of the pavilions in Sokolniki that Zverev's virtuoso brushwork was noticed by knowledgeable people. From there, his way to fame began.