Exhibition of paintings "Portrait of a Contemporary" in the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva

From September 16 to 24, 2014, Marina Tsvetaeva’s House-Museum (Moscow, Borisoglebsky per., 6) will host an exhibition of paintings “Portrait of a Contemporary” , dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.

Our correspondent, artist Surzhina Diana, visited the selection of works for the third stage of the competition, dedicated to the poet M.Yu. Lermontov. In the museum hall, where under the glass lid of the medical cabinet there is a statement by the poet Marina Tsvetaeva about the request to take her to work as a dishwasher in the dining room, the curator of the exhibition of the Creative Union of Professional Artists Irina Grechanik, carefully choosing words so as not to offend the artist’s feelings, asks the participants about the not always clear the plot of the presented paintings.

Artist Kirill Nikitenko at the competition "Portrait of a Contemporary"

The mysterious connection of the artistic and poetic image can be traced to the canvases of the abstract expressionist contemporary artist Kirill Nikitenko, who paints the canvas solely under the influence of vivid emotions. Showing the value of the subjective mood of an individual is the basis of his work.

"Morning Watchman" Olga Mochalova

"The night watchman" Olga Mochalova

Artist Olga Mochalova talks about the essence and participants of the exhibition:

- The dual, bipolar nature of Lermontov, easily passing from one extreme to another: from love to hatred, from unbridled revelry to true patriotic heroism, was endowed with genuine humanism, which does not tolerate falsehood and adaptability, and gradually turned it into a painter of public morals.

Despite the “prescription of events”, psychologism and the philosophy of the poet’s works are relevant throughout the entire time. Eras, attitudes and preferences are changing. But truly human is eternal.

Yes, we are not what people were 200 years ago, we see, read, read the world in a different way and, therefore, reflect in a different way. In different ways, sometimes in completely different ways, but this does not mean at all that M.Yu. Lermontov’s poetry and prose are not close to us. It’s just that now we see, feel and experience it differently, and the familiar image of a lonely sail as in the paintings of Tatyana Malyusova in the serene azure sea can turn into an insignificant white dot, as if accidentally forgotten “nekrasra” in the corner of a huge canvas covered with flashy pasty strokes of blue paint “ We drink from the cup of being ”by Irina Golub to Lermontov’s verse:

“We drink from the cup of being
Eyes open
Golden watering edges
With my own tears… ”

“We drink from the cup of being” Irina Golub

The first stage of the competition narrated about the inner world of M.Yu. Lermontov and presented many abstract paintings.

The second stage was devoted directly to the poet’s literary and pictorial creative heritage and priority was given to paintings in a realistic manner - film adaptations, illustrations to works as close as possible to the text, significant places of life historically restored on canvases or photographs, portraits of people directly connected with life and work M.Yu. Lermontov.

The third stage of the competition explores the interpretation of heritage in the modern world: musical, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, decorative and applied and photo works based on the poet’s works.

The competition is attended by Honored Artist of Russia, Professor of the Department of Painting Closed Nikolai Ivanovich and his students. This summer they worked at the Lermontov-Serednyakovo estate in the Moscow Region and set themselves the difficult task of conveying poetry in ceramics, sculpture and painting. The best works of the three stages of the competition, including exhibitions held directly by Professor N. Closed with his students, will be shown at the opening of the season of TSPH on October 16, 2014 at 17.00 in the art salon on Tverskaya (Ostrovsky House Museum)

Diana Surzhina