The appearance of such work in the Russian auction market is not news, but an event! An oil by Rabin, more than a meter in size, created in 1965, and moreover, from the exhibition at London Grosvenor Gallery. For connoisseurs of Rabin's art these three facts are eloquent confirmation of the highest level of the presented work.

Works of the inventor of “panic realism” can be very different in their technical complexity. Some “quick” graphics works are done very succinctly, literally in a single pass. Technical stinginess is also characteristic of many paintings by Petr Belenok. But that is not the case today.

Vyacheslav Kalinin is an artist of the legendary “Lianozovo group” — an informal community of like-minded people who gathered in the barracks of Evgeny Kropivnitsky and his son-in-law Oscar Rabin. Kalinin from the student's bench was excommunicated from the official exhibitions. The commission of the Moscow Union of Artists quickly identified “non-Soviet” mood of his work. However, such a life was destined to many original artists — apartment exhibitions, shows at physics institutes and in cafes.

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. 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 artist 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.

Little Burliuk of incredible beauty! Roses against the background of the sea. This is from the American period, most likely the late 1940s. Burliuk is successful, enjoying a measured life, building a house on Long Island with his own gallery. He is praised by American critics. His works are bought. All is well, and the picture conveys that mood.

Before us is a portrait of the American writer Edgar Alan Poe with the heroes of his works. The author of this picture is the great and terrible Vasily Shulzhenko. A bold, provocative artist, author of the famous canvas “The Kybo”. The heroes of his works, like those of Edgar Allan Poe, are often marginalized, drunkards and phantasmagorical characters. Sharp in his judgement, Vasily Shulzhenko, like Edgar Poe, is often attacked by critics. He is usually blamed for his dislike of the Russian people. Well... this time there is nothing to pick on. There is nothing Russian. Before us is a gorgeous, atmospheric work and a plot that is understandable all over the world, on all continents.

The 1960s artist from the clip of the first names of unofficial post-war art. Master of Structural Symbolism. Plavinsky was inspired by the achievements of ancient cultures, their symbols and signs. He traveled a lot in the USSR since the late 1950s, walked half the country, studied historical monuments and artifacts of the past. And, admittedly, our big country gave him enough material for difficult experiences. The Russian North was already a land of ruined churches, dilapidated huts and devastation. But what struck fear in an unprepared traveler sometimes became a source of strong emotions for a cosmist and a born artist-researcher.

Works by the 1960s artist Boris Sveshnikov regularly participate in our auctions, but still recall the biography. At the age of 19, he was sent to a prison camp due to slander, for anti-Soviet activities. The “goner” dying of exhaustion was saved by the paramedic Arkady Akimovich Steinberg — the artist of the “Silver Age” and the father of Eduard Steinberg. Perhaps it was precisely that camp horror that gave rise to that very unique imagery in Sveshnikov's work — with monsters, graves, infernal figures. What is called “Kafkaesque romance”.

What do we remember about Krasnopevtsev? This is a special artist — an artist outside the era. According to his quiet philosophical still lifes, no historian can determine that outside is the USSR, the time of “developed socialism”, all around are propaganda slogans and hypocritical films calling for the fight. And you will never think that the author of these inspired paintings works in the Soviet “Reklamfilm”, while he himself dreams of France, is friends with Svyatoslav Richter and George Kostaki and creates works that collectors will hunt for in 50 years.