Group exhibition "Gold" (painting, installation, video, objects)

Center for Contemporary Art Winery, Red Shop (Moscow, Syromyatnichesky per., 1/8, entrance 14)

The concept of the exhibition centers around an ambiguous, complex topic - values in modern society. Hence the laconic name - "Gold". This metal, its color, luster is associated with wealth, special value. In the project, each participant uses a golden color when creating a work, emphasizing the importance of specific things. It can be something material or spiritual, banal or non-trivial, base or sublime.

A person builds his own scale of priorities, often replacing the true with the imaginary. The internal is hidden by the external, the golden brilliance justifies the vice, and there remains only the flickering of emptiness and a mirage of spiritual fulfillment. At the same time, gold gives a sacred meaning, means paramount, in some way, the sanctity of something. In medieval iconography, it denoted divine light. The French philosopher, author of works on metaphysics and symbolism Rene Guenon studied the concept of gold, linguistically proving its relationship with the word "light". The identification of this precious metal, its brilliance with the heavenly one went from ancient times, later coming into conflict with the association with the secular, base and sinful.

The image of the golden calf created for a long time transfers the positive meaning that once extended to the tsarist metal to the distant past, leaving a visualized idea of gold as a completely negative "hero". The art project "Gold" provides the viewer with the opportunity to reflect on their own perception of this term, the adoption of pluralism of ideas about this controversial object.

The exposition combines “critical artists” and “sacralizing artists,” who in their own way accurately, uniquely express themselves on the subject of values. Some authors boldly suggest the idea that less and less truth remains with us, we ourselves prefer to succumb to this inexplicable attraction to gold in the literal and metaphorical sense. Others, through their creativity, tell personal stories about the dear, close to their essence.

In the Japanese art of ceramic restoration, there is a method called kintsugi. And its meaning is not in the beauty of the gold veins that appear when the object is glued, but in the philosophy of this method of restoration - the adoption of imperfections and flaws. Breakages and cracks should not be masked, they are inalienable. This also manifests itself in the acceptance of changes, which in this case are symbolized by the golden color that makes up the crack. For any person, as well as for the artist, the adoption of any changes is a difficult stage, which is nevertheless necessary. Art is eternal if it develops, leaving a trace of the past, taking into account the experience of previous eras. And here, paradoxically, an experiment comes forward. The Gold project is an appeal to history and the very experiment, a comparison of history, philosophy, visual techniques and styles, personal experiences, thoughts and opinions of the authors. "Gold" unites artists and spectators for discussion, opening up space for thought and making your own decision: what is important specifically for you, what are your values in this life?

List of participants: Maurizio Cattelan, Pavel Otdelnov, Lisa Bobkova, Gor Chakhal, Yuri Shabelnikov, Margarita Khusnutdinova, Nikolai Onishchenko, Anton Tarasov, Misha Most, Dmitry Tsvetkov, Daria Surovtseva, Yarutina Olga, Aleksey Spirenkov, Natalya Gudovich, Konstantin Khudyakov, Anastasia Belova, Ivan Glazkov, Konstantin Benkovich, Andrey Shkarin, Gosteva Tatyana, Tulchinskaya Lisa, Olga Krasutskaya, Olga Sogrina, Fedor Petrik, Elena Yamlikhanova, Vladimir Dubosarsky and others.

Special thanks to the artist Olga Yarutina for the support and co-operation in the implementation of the project.

Project author and curator: Olga Krasutskaya
Head of experimental creative workshops TSHR and PAX
Konstantin Khudyakov
Visart Foundation for the Promotion of Visual Art, TSHR, with the participation of the Volga branch of the Russian Academy of Arts, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, with information support from the international art Internet resource Gallerix