A new way of filling in the backgrounds and techniques for the embedding of objects in assemblages and abstractions was shown to his friend from Leningrad, Yevgeny Rukhin, by Vladimir Nemukhin in the 1960s. A geologist by training, Rukhin became one of the most brilliant artists of unofficial art. And one of the most daring. Rukhin's intransigence and courage, his open confrontation with the authorities gave rise to the version of his murder for political reasons.

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”.

Before us is a great rarity. An example of a large, nervous painting by Vladimir Yakovlev. And one of his most important themes is the cat. There is a beautiful legend that Yakovlev once saw from the window of a psychiatric hospital how a cat caught a pigeon. He was shocked, imagining himself in the place of the unfortunate bird. But knowledgeable people say otherwise. The cat in Yakovlev's work was inspired by Picasso's “Cat Catching a Bird”. Dramatic philosophical subject: a metaphor of human destinies, a conversation about the predator and the victim, about the defenselessness of man in the face of circumstances.

1996 — the golden period of the famous duo Vinogradov-Dubosarsky, when they split the community of connoisseurs. Some considered them deliberately kitsch artists, almost opportunists to please the tastes of merchants. And they were definitely considered art hooligans. Knowledgeable people, on the contrary, noted the thoughtful conceptual irony of Vinogradov and Dubosarsky and predicted the role of the duo as spokesmen for the spirit of all the 1990s. Now, at a distance, it is clear that they were right.

What unites Belenok's “panic realism” and Gintovt's “pre-dawn”? Of course, that very heavy oppressive atmosphere, the nature of which was scary to formulate. A premonition of a universal catastrophe. And a very valuable accurate hit in its own time. And it is no coincidence that this premonition of the apocalypse, the atmosphere of an impending catastrophe, is becoming one of the core themes in art these days.

Vasily Yakovlevich Sitnikov is a legend of unofficial art of the thaw era. His nickname Vasya the Lanternman is due to the fact that he worked on a projector for showing transparencies at the Surikov Institute. A virtuoso artist who was able to paint a picture with a broom or a floor brush was actually self-taught or a person of natural gifts (whoever you like). He painted beautifully and kept a whole “academy” of his students.

Spectacular, more than a meter, bright canvas. And a bold plot. Piano keys, flutes, immodest performers, stars and a crescent moon. Music and primal instincts are among the main themes in the work of Alexander Sitnikov. As well as mysticism, myths, historical legends. And in this work, everything is not easy. The star and the crescent moon are associated with Muslim symbols. But in fact, this imagery has been known since the time of the Sumerian civilization, where the month is the sign of the god Sina, and the star is the sign of the goddess Ishtar. But that is not all. Noticed the hammer and sickle in the center? One way or another — in any case, the interpretation of “Dolls” will be an exciting experience for the new owner.

Nonconformist Boris Sveshnikov called his masterpiece “Crossing the May River”. May — with a capital letter. We did not find such a geographical name. There is the Far Eastern Maya, a tributary of Aldan. But Sveshnikov, obviously, had in mind something else. Something mythological or metaphorical. In the background we see a bridge over a gorge that two people cross. And probably a family of three is looking at us from the foreground. What kind of transition? What is the bridge? Bridge over fate? The border of two worlds? Or just the end of a difficult spring? In the mythology of different countries, the bridge over the river symbolizes the border between heaven and earth. The world of people and the world of the divine.