Demyan Lenkov. Exhibition "Two dollars a day"

“Putting your hand in the inner pocket of the dusty green frock coat that hung from the door under the stairs the year before last, and which, apparently, belonged to one of the gloomy tanneries of the skin, trampled to death in an ugly, drunken stabbing, that happens every day in the tavern opposite, I found two greasy state treasury tickets - each worth one dollar. Two dollars. This is more than enough to eke out a miserable existence for at least another day: two pints of stale beer, a handful of raw tobacco, an earthenware potato soup… And if there are 30-40 cents left, then some white zinc and strontian yellow. ”

The author of the text is artist Demyan Lenkov, who believes that no one is reading the texts now, and in a press release for the exhibition it would be enough just to rewrite the alphabet several times. At first we decided to do so. But nevertheless, there was a slight hope that among those who see this release, there are dedicated people who can overcome several paragraphs. Realizing the magnitude of the feat of these patient people, Alpert Gallery promises all of them - to see and remember the two secret words buried in the thickness of this hopelessly long text (namely, “Strontian yellow”) - a surprise that they can receive personally at the opening: by contacting the artist and thus becoming living proof of the amazing fact that not everyone is reading texts now. We hope that the artist, having received a sufficient number of confirmations of the public’s ability to read, will be able to find the time and continue his literary experiments.

About 20 years ago, the historian and commentator of alchemical texts Oleg Fomin-Shakhov noticed Demyan Lenkov’s interest in hermetism, believing that “his paintings in twilight red-brown tones could serve as illustrations for Lovecraft or Meyrink, if not for the author’s implicit smile ". Indeed, the artist has a grin - sad and a little cunning. Perhaps, contemporaries could have noticed this among the authors of The History of a City and Petersburg Stories.

The area in which the heroes of Demyan Lenkov live is strange, but it seems to be familiar. The town is like an old washed-up tablecloth: gray in brown spots - either from French wine or from borsch. Shabby house. A drainpipe is a curvuline without a pair of knees. The shutters rickety, the balconies hover on parole. Porch - the stool of the hanged man, the door - the raft of the doomed. To come in?

The question is rhetorical. No entry is not possible. This leads to curiosity, multiplied by the belief that this does not happen. In the works of Demyan Lenkov is absolutely not scary. The artist immediately makes it clear all the conventions of what is happening - like in a fairy tale or in a puppet theater. The atmosphere of unprecedentedness does not decrease, and therefore every plot, any detail of the picture becomes a real gift for the viewer who can appreciate it. And the author rubs his hands and generously multiplies entities (after all, 4 years of the Ural Polytechnic University) - he pulls out God’s coffee grinders of all stripes, watches with a double set of hands, old-mode electric tiles, alarm clocks, transistors, artful assembly locks, barrel-grinders, wonder cars, steam locomotives electrical theater, finally…

Favorite materials Demyan Lenkova - wood and iron. It is possible that the magic of his work is explained by this. After all, each board or iron sheet that the author uses as a canvas has a biography. Combining with the paint the history of the former patch of a metal garage or board, which blocked the door to the basement of an already demolished house, the artist launches some special resuscitation mechanisms. Even when the supply of “material with a biography” runs out, and the artist has to turn to plain paper, the sheet with the help of putty, glue and something else no less magical turns into parchment or papyrus, acquiring a solid age and some that mysterious "non-realm."

Demyan Lenkov is a resident artist at Alpert Gallery. Born in 1968 in Yekaterinburg. He studied at the Ural Polytechnic Institute, at the graphic arts department of the Nizhny Tagil Pedagogical Institute. Repeatedly participated in exhibitions in Russia and Ukraine. In the late 90s - early 2000s, he was actively exhibited in the United States and France. Member of the project of Alexander Glezer "Children of Perestroika" (1998, USA, New York). Works are in corporate and private collections in Russia, USA, France, Germany, Canada and other countries. Lives and works in Moscow. Collaborates exclusively with Alpert Gallery.

Alpert Gallery, Krasnokazarmennaya St., 3
Entrance to the exhibition: $ 2 at the Central Bank rate as of December 31, 2017 (the forecast of the rate is on the conscience of the incoming)