Clouds over the "Art Manege" Automatic translate

From December 9 to 13, 2004, the ninth exhibition, the Art Manezhanezh Contemporary Art Fair, was held in Moscow. Previously, it was traditionally held in the building of the large Manege. After the fire in the Manege, the exposition was organized on the territory of LFK CSKA. This explains the refusal of some galleries, formerly permanent participants of the fair, to place their exhibits. It turned out to be quite difficult to get to the new exhibition hall, so the number of visitors decreased compared to the usual hype around this event. In addition, the advertising campaign was not very well organized, which did not allow to fully convey information about the exhibition to the audience. Perhaps the name of the exposition, “tied” to a specific location, also played a negative role. Despite all the obstacles, "Art Manege" took place and became a significant event in the cultural life of Moscow. Here were presented the works of the famous artist of the "seventies" Tatyana Nazarenko, a recent graduate of the Department of Graphic Arts, Moscow Art Theater. IN AND. Surikov Timofey Smirnov, bright and flowering canvases by Stella Shalumova, made in the original technique of textured painting. The Tsvetarus Gallery, one of the information sponsors of which was the Art Council magazine, presented an unusual exhibition on the theme of “Illusions and Allusions in Contemporary Art,” called “The Illusion of the Rain.” The project was authored by gallery director Olga Dranichkina, artist, member of the Ministry of Agriculture Marina Zvyagintseva and art critic Svetlana Rohanova.

The organizers of the project “Rain Illusion” set a goal to show the viewer the usual weather phenomenon for everyone from an unexpected angle. For some, rain is transparent streams running through the window panes; for some, the long-awaited revitalizing coolness. But this natural phenomenon not only gives rise to illusions, but also dictates its rituals. Gathering on the street, we eagerly listen to the weather forecast, so as not to leave an umbrella so necessary on a rainy day. And how pleasant it is to expose your face to the warm, gentle sunshine, barely breaking through the clouds after a long merciless rain. The reward for the gray water wall is the rainbow bridge sparkling in diamonds of drops.

The authors of the project saw all this when they designed the stand. Naturally, filled with the spirit of the elements, he did not go unnoticed. The works of Marina Zvyagintseva, made using the monotype technique, were presented to the visitor in a spectacular frame of attention-grabbing original details. These were mother-of-pearl spirals enchanting with their rotation and symbolizing jets of rain. They, like an open theater curtain, attracted the curious glances of the audience, directing them deeper into the scene - an exposition that fully revealed the image of inclement weather. Transparent umbrellas, raincoats hung on easels - all these attributes, so necessary on a rainy day, created a unique atmosphere of creative disorder in the art workshop. On a winter day, thunder clanged unexpectedly, which stunned and forced people passing by to stop and look at the outlandish exposition. The highlight of the exhibition were rubber galoshes, which Marina Zvyagintseva painted with acrylics. Interested in the project, we turned for details to the director of the Tsvetarus gallery Olga Dranichkina.

Tell me, Olga, where did the Tsvetarus project begin?

The gallery appeared several years ago by the efforts of one of the founders, Pyotr Anatolyevich Zhelnin, who gathered his friends, artists, into a single organization. My husband, Alexander Zhelnin, the son of Peter Anatolyevich, acted as a co-founder. It turned out such a family business, for which, as our brainchild, each of us has a sore soul. We have been officially working for three years, and before that there were about two more years of preparation, negotiations, and the solution of organizational issues.

How did such an unusual name come about?

At first, the project was called “Colors of Russia”, but at the very first large exhibition, the organizers announced that with this name we can exhibit exclusively popular soup and Russian antiquity. And if we are going to do contemporary art, we need to come up with something else. Therefore, the "Colors of Russia" was reduced to the expressive word "Tsvetarus" with an emphasis on the letter "a". I associate with this name some saturated color, something bright.

What types of art do you do?

We have both painting and graphics. We are also engaged in design, batik, sculpture, author’s furniture. Now we are talking about our premises, because we have three visiting exhibition halls, in which there are permanent exhibits that change once a month. We have our own circle of customers, the material has been accumulated, but there is no permanent salon yet.

How do you work with artists? What is the principle of selecting exhibitors? Is the name of the author important to you?

We work only with those authors who are registered in the Union of Artists of Russia. We consider professionalism to be the main selection criterion. We do not deal with antiques, although several old paintings are in our collection.

We try to work with artists on the recommendation. We work very closely with the Moscow Cultural Foundation, whose experts and the president himself advise with whom to build business relations. We listen to the opinion of professionals, and decide whether to work with one or another artist or not. My personal choice also plays a role here. There are a lot of artists. In our case, I think the name is not so important. Although large exhibitions, of course, need to go with the person who has already participated in them. The artist must be adequate to the exhibition. Sometimes people just don’t understand where they went, have no idea about the conditions for participation in the project. And for work, this is extremely important, because they invest a lot of money. By the way a small digression. What associations come to mind when you say Italy real estate coast ? Surely something warm, bright and calm.

What are your impressions of the Art Manege?

It seems to me that Art Manege has always been, is and will be a significant event in the artistic life of Moscow. We participated in it for the third time.

A professional takes any exhibition very seriously. The same can be attributed to galleries. Those who did not participate in the exhibition just because it was supposed to be held at CSKA are, I think, not professionals, as the Art-Manezhanezh brand will always be a significant contribution to its own name in the art market. If you fall out of this clip, you are not a professional and you cannot show yourself at a high level, regardless of whether in CSKA or in the Manege on Red Square.

How do you rate the overall level of the exhibition?

The level was different. On the one hand, it’s good, because at the last Art Manezhanezh a very tough selection took place. Many young galleries and those who exhibited, so to speak, “untwisted” authors did not get here, although the artists and galleries were good. And in this “Art Manezhanezh” they gave way to young people, those who for some reason could not make themselves known in famous galleries and among famous artists were given the opportunity to show themselves.