This particular painting was among the first batch of specially selected works, which was taken out by the English art dealer Eric Estorick to arrange the first personal exhibition of Oscar Rabin in London at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1965. Andropov reported to the CPSU Central Committee about the sale of these paintings. And it was with these paintings that Rabin ran into serious trouble in the Soviet Union.

Vulokh of the highest order. One-of-a-kind. Exceptional quality. 1972! The author kept the intrigue by calling the painting as abstract as possible — “Details”. But connoisseurs know that Vulokh's works are almost never purely “abstract”. Streaks of lines and scratched “strokes” usually contain coded landscapes or seasons. Here, too, the viewer may discern rather a pebble beach or a field of flowers, or even an alien view.

Rare in mood Belenok. The inventor of “panic realism” suddenly turned to a warm, optimistic plot, even if not without a slight melancholy. The author's title is “Sheer Joy”. Where did this come from? One might speculate. The year of 1987 was a time of hope and optimism.

“The Moon with Letters” is an uncommon, conceptual subject in the work of the sixties artist Vladimir Nemukhin. We are used to card tables and jacks. And here the moon, and also strange syllables. We can assume that this is a dialogue with Velimir Khlebnikov, a reference to the poetry of the Russian avant-garde.

One and a half meter Steinberg of amazing beauty and the highest museum level. This is a classic subject for one of the main representatives of the second avant-garde. The laconic language of Suprematism, a dialogue with Malevich, but at the same time a very special aestheticism. No wonder one of his first teachers was “Petrovich” — Boris Petrovich Sveshnikov.

Boruch was the pseudonym of Boris Steinberg, son of Arkady Steinberg and brother of Eduard Steinberg. Considered a talented poet by his family, Boruch never published a line of his poetry, but became one of the most brilliant figures of unofficial art. He was an uncompromising and independent figure.

Natalia Nesterova created her very recognizable, distinctive contemplative neo-primitivism almost 50 years ago. And her language remains contemporary even today. Her paintings are a conversation about life here and now. She tries more often to remind of modest pleasures and moments of happiness. Nesterova does not reproach or educate. Her paintings are about rejoicing in good weather, pleasant company, delicious food and the opportunity to travel to interesting places.

This work was painted 57 years ago by the sixties artist Igor Vulokh. It has been exhibited many times and published in catalogs. It was last seen in 2008. And recently it was confirmed that the painting no longer exists. That's what happens sometimes. But in this story, all ends well. And what really happened — we tell you in another video from the series “Examining Artworks”.

Thirty years ago, Valery Koshlyakov, together with Avdey Ter-Oganyan, were associates in the “Art or Death” partnership. The artists lived, worked and organized exhibitions in the legendary squat on Trekhprudny Lane. Today, Valery Koshlyakov is already a classic of contemporary Russian art. He lives and works in Paris. And auction prices for some of his works are approaching $ 150,000.

The artists of the duo Komar and Melamid are known primarily as the inventors of Sots Art, which they coined in 1972. The term itself is a combination of “pop-art” and “socialist realism”. But unlike American pop-art, which drove advertising to the point of absurdity, Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid came up with the idea of bringing symbols of ideological propaganda to the point of absurdity.