Reflect on the present through the past. In Voronezh, the exhibition “Vivat, Russia!” Latest fresh news of Voronezh and the region
In 2022, Russia arrives on the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter I. In many places, an art exhibition took place on the anniversary of the emperor, their authors are literally in great demand today. Voronezh was lucky in this regard: thanks to long-term cooperation with the Russian Academy of Artistic Creativity, the large city managed to get an extensive collection of works by outstanding masters – an extensive group of the Russian Academy of Arts from Moscow, the Moscow Region, Voronezh, Tambov, Orel and Lipetsk. The exposition “Vivat, Russia!”, organized by the Voronezh Art School with the support of the regional department of culture, unfolded at the Kramskoy Art Museum.
The scale of the exhibition is impressive: more than 100 muscles of painting, graphics, sculpture, arts and crafts occupied 500 square meters. m on two floors of the museum space. The names of the authors are well known even to those who have little interest in art: Zurab Tsereteli, Anatoly Lyubavin, Andrey Dubov, Konstantin Petrov, Evgeny Romashko, Alexander Tsigal, Oleg Savostyuk, Viktor Rusanov, Alexei Sukhovetsky, Alexander Teslik, Yuri Astapchenko, Sergey Gulevsky, Alexander Zolotykh, Alexander Lavrov, Givi Kolmakhelidze, Pavel Zolotov and many others. In total, the exposition contains 40 illustrations by masters.
Here, portraits of Peter the Great side by side with landscapes of the Voronezh region, flower still lifes, porcelain figurines of artists, three-dimensional glass compositions decorated with silhouettes of modern men and women. would have been discovered, these works have no connection with the great sovereign. We also tried to comprehend the present through the prism of the past.
Oleg Mosolov, Deputy Pre-Measurement of the Voronezh Region, opening the exposition, noted that during its initial production there were no words that specifically depict Peter I. The goal was more global – to show the Peter the Great situation and its reflection in different times and events. And the authors brilliantly coped with this task.
– When a few months ago we discussed with the organizers the special significance of holding this exhibition in Voronezh, we decided that it would not only be about the sudden appearance of Peter. It is also necessary to display his deeds and legacy of the century. Today I saw this dynamic in work and the most creative, painful in the history of the development of the state. The exhibition is a kind of bridge among young artists, who have the good fortune to exhibit alongside mastitis authors, and are realized in the academic circles of art. For us, too, happiness to contemplate such masterpieces. Over the past seven years, this is the first such large-scale exposition. I will allow myself to expect that such exhibitions will be discovered. Voronezh has the right to welcome guests of such a high level and enjoy their health,” said Oleg Mosolov.
Work on the project lasted six months. At the request of the organizers, to collect works in a single exposition of the development of the economy – it was necessary to agree with each author, carefully pack each picture, subsequently transport them from different cities to Voronezh, and also send them in the exhibition hall so that all works take their places, but at the same time, they fit into the general outline in meaning.
– The project is large, labor-intensive and therefore so valuable. We were detained by Voronezh residents and found a real gift in the city, so the selection of traces was very thorough. We should not forget that the year of Peter the Great is a year of unrest throughout Russia, many artists involved in other exhibitions, and it is all the more pleasant that they took the time to prepare for our exposition and provided their works, – noted and. about. director of the Kramskoy Museum Yuliy Zaichenko.
An exceptional phenomenon in the technical plane, according to her, turned out to be a triptych by Boris Belsky. The artist pays special attention to silk-screen printing on metal. The exhibition presents his works from the “Naval Architecture” series, where photographs of the steps of a floating squadron – nuclear missile cruisers and battleships – refer to iconic Gothic buildings of various eras and styles.
This Belsky project appears in the exposition, as tributes are introduced to Peter I and the construction under his passport of the Russian Navy. The height of the metal sheets is 2.25 m, while they are quite dense, which makes them easy to bend. Therefore, it is problematic to pack, transport and assemble them for exhibitions.
High accuracy of storage and delivery to Voronezh of the glass composition “Together” by Moscow artist Lyubov Savelyeva. She devoted her whole life to painting, graphics, poetry, but glass has always been an important occupation for the craftswoman. She managed to achieve success and continue the tradition of glass sculpture, begun by the sculptor Vera Mukhina. Savelyeva’s products, presented at the exhibition, are adapted for installation in caterpillar glass – manually, the possibility of free blowing, especially in a glass furnace. The composition with physical figures symbolizes the fragility of man in comparison with nature.
Anatoly Lyubavin, Rector of the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after Surikov, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Arts, shared two of his works. He painted the painting “Listening to the Bird”, dedicated to the everyday life of pandemic self-isolation, in 2021. In the same style, a year later, the canvas “Red Horseman” appeared, depicting Peter I on modern Red Square. This is an homage to Surikov’s work “Morning of the Streltsy Execution” and in parallel with Petrov-Vodkin’s “Bathing the Red Horse”.
Speaking at the opening, Anatoly Lyubavin thanked the curators for the worthy organization of the exhibition:
– The exhibition has grown. In another city, in another window, with a different aura, she would have looked differently. And here, in Voronezh, the very building of the Kramskoy Museum, the history of the city and its close connection with Peter I – all concepts are compatible. It turned out to be a complete organ. Special thanks to the ideological inspirer of the project, Sergei Gulevsky, who gathered all of us and took part in the exhibition. The high status of this project is surpassed by the remarkable composition of artists, each of whom has his own language, style, direction, imaginative thinking.
The artists present at the exhibition were among the academicians living in Voronezh, and most of them are prone to various diseases.
– It is also very important to gather in one place not only the leading artists from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also the authors. On this plan, an interesting collection has turned out, united by the occurrence of an event – the birthday of Peter the Great. Each artist responded to this anniversary in one way or another. Not even in the direct plan – to paint a portrait of Peter or his premises – through modern plots, motives, to depict a spiritual connection with him. It turned out such a deep contact with time. In some works, one can find a rethinking of the past in our present. And the viewer, I think, will be interested in developing the role of Peter in the history of the Russian state. Moreover, the exposition is full of clues, and somewhere – unexpected mysteries that give food for thought. In addition, the exhibition can have an educational value, showing how the artistic language, the view of art has changed over time, the plastic device of texture has been transformed, he explained.
President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli could not attend the opening of the exhibition for health reasons, but handed over his three works and a letter of thanks to the organizers. Voronezh residents can see the bronze model created by the meter – the exact monument to Peter I installed in St. Petersburg – and the colorful, written estimates of strokes of still lifes “Joyful Day” and “March 8”.
The ideological inspirer of the project, the director of the Voronezh Art School, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Sergei Gulevsky said that the employee at the Tsereteli exhibition did not report much work.
– Tsereteli is generally very easy-going, especially since the academy has been cooperating with public schools for more than 15 years, there is a certain degree of trust in us. All the work of Zurab Konstantinovich is positive, dynamic, moving forward. In this he is similar to the reformer Peter I, which is probably why his nature touched him so subtly. And from Tsereteli’s still lifes, I think the audience gets the same emotional pleasure as I do. I remember when in 2016 Zurab Konstantinovich came with a master class to the Ostrogozhsk children’s art school and in 40 minutes before our eyes he painted a large-sized painting so vividly, emotionally, we were all impressed! he said.
By the way, initially the exposition consisted of works by Tsereteli. The organizers also gathered to install on the street in front of the entrance to the Kramskoy Museum a three-meter sample of the sculptural composition of Peter the Great, erected on the Moskva River. But due to the large number of layouts, another city “took away” in just two weeks.
Sergey Gulevsky added that, in addition to the presence in the collection of works by legendary masters such as Tsereteli and Lyubavin, this exhibition highlights the main thing – high professional art, the sincere love of all authors for creativity:
– Really beautiful things are collected here that involuntarily stop you. I would like to consider them in detail, learn something new and get those positive emotions, which, perhaps, are not enough now.
Exhibition “Vivat, Russia!” will last until May 29. In addition to excursions, visitors will find lectures, master classes and even concerts of instrumental music from the time of Peter the Great.
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