Exhibition of Timofei Smirnov "Moscow Special" Automatic translate

This exhibition is a continuation of the project “MEASURE OF VALUE”, begun by Timofei Smirnov in 2011. Then the author, wanting to help humanity find the usual measure of everything really great that it created in the non-material sphere - culture, art, proposed utopian “money”, the same abstract, like those that we are promised are backed by gold reserves. The artist presents eight canvases, almost monochrome, most of them black and white, but each painting has a yellow color - the color of yellow metal, gold.

The central work is “Moscow Special”, a familiar font on a familiar label with the St. Basil’s Cathedral on it, which is a symbol of Moscow along with the Kremlin. Recall that from 1894 to this day, this vodka is produced by the state monopoly as a Russian brand. In the era of scarcity, a bottle of vodka in itself was a measure of the value of services and necessary goods. In our life, this drink accompanies troubles and joys, is an attribute of holidays and grief, the most tasteless and purest product. The artist placed Moskovskaya in a cup and sealed it with a multitude of lids. The lids open one after another, and the liquid flows in gold over the canvas, hope remains at the bottom of the cup, like a Pandora’s box.

Timofey Smirnov, Moscow Special, 2015, acrylic, canvas, 140x70

In the painting “Unseen Eye”, the author used the face of George Washington from a one-dollar bill, enlarging it 1000 times and supplying the eye of the young shepherd David (a fragment of Michelangelo’s work), who defeated Goliath with the strength of his mind.

“Gold” - bugs, spiders, cockroaches and other small insects run along the gold bar in a row, a large beautiful butterfly stands out. Wealth, possession of gold and life itself are fleeting, like a one-day butterfly.

Timofey Smirnov, Gold, 2015, acrylic, canvas, 140x70

In 2011, Timofei Smirnov, protesting against the valuation of works of art in monetary terms, very wittily came up with his measure of value. In units of measure, 1 Gluck, 1 Bach, 1 window in euros, 1812 rubles, etc. were proposed. The bills were abstract canvases with portraits of Gluck, Bach, etc., respectively. “If money for humanity is an earthly embodiment of beauty, this does not mean that there is no other beauty. I protest against the cult of things. The picture is not the equivalent of securities. And although it’s a thing, but not a shovel, you won’t do anything with it, it’s for the soul and mind, ”the artist declared. Should it be understood that over the past years the author’s revolutionary fervor has somewhat subsided? We can see that on all the canvases presented, the golden calf accompanies art either in the form of elusive moonlight, or in the form of obscure spots and strokes or liquid streams. However, through artistic imagery, Timofei Smirnov emphasizes how ephemeral and unreliable both the money itself and the gold supply that provides it are. And, although this project is not without some edification, nevertheless, the work of Timofei Smirnov, as always, is skillful and poetic, filled with meaning. Well, what the artist wanted to say was up to the viewer.

The author himself is sure: “these works are relevant in today’s day of consumer hysteria, kitchen revolution, thirst for“ steepness ”, life for the sake of money. In the country of cooks, bast shoes, boots, with kvas patriotism in dollar terms. <…> Who are we listening to? Call of Taurus? Yes. The exhibition is edifying and aggressive in assessing time. But the theme of the dollar and the exchange rate is the main theme of the year and recent years! This is all that interests everyone. And me - culture and life. ”