"Kitchen of the artist or "entrance from the yard"

From March 3 to April 17, 2022, the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts hosts a solo exhibition dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Dmitry Ikonnikov, organized by East Meets West Gallery.

This exhibition does not claim to cover the full scope of the artist’s multifaceted work. Its name “The Artist’s Kitchen or “Entrance from the Yard” already sets certain restrictions both in the choice of material and in the fact that it is complemented by sculptural compositions by his colleague in spirit and a representative of the same generation with him in the last third of the 20th century, Mikhail Dronov.

This will be the seventh personal exhibition of the artist over the past 5 years, which testifies to the great authority of Dmitry Ikonnikov and the high demand for his works both in the professional and cultural environment not only in Moscow, but also in Russia, even after the author’s death

More than 20 years ago, in 2001, Dmitry’s first exhibition took place at the East Meets West Gallery and my first work with him on a solo exhibition. In the archive of the gallery, not only the booklet, postcards, but also a handwritten version of the article in the booklet, written by Dmitry in the same year, have been preserved. This time in the author’s work was a time of "renewal" and "increment" of new themes and images, thanks to the tireless immersion and unstoppable increment of new meanings in their reflection, according to a great connoisseur of the artist’s work, art critic Alexei Tolstoy.

The exhibition uses the thematic cycles of Dmitry Ikonnikov, such as “Life on the ninth floor”, “City. Entrance from the yard”, “Seamstress. Fabric of time”, “Mediterranean”, “Paris”.

At the beginning of the 2000s, the "Kitchen of the Artist" changed radically: Dmitry Ikonnikov finally switched from the art of posters and book graphics to the pictorial and graphic language, in which he gradually formed "… complex, repeatedly verified by practice philosophical and poetic, metaphorical images, genuine "creations of the spirit ", embodied in a perfect art form…" (Alexander Rozhin, academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Arts, editor-in-chief of the Tretyakov Gallery magazine).

The new quality of his painting and graphics and the new understanding of space and time are declared in the two main themes of his work: “Life on the ninth floor” and “City. Entrance from the yard. It is these two themes that will become the cornerstone for a new look at the work of the artist Dmitry Ikonnikov.

Over the past 15 years, a unique inimitable form of his works has also been formed, striking in its philosophical observation and contemplation, rhythmic sensuality of the palette and the harmony of the particular and the whole. The personality of the author becomes the main one in each of his works, belonging to any genre, be it still life, urban landscape, genre painting or portrait. “Another characteristic feature of the sheets under consideration is a transparent haze that envelops objects, people, and architecture. And this is seen as a distinctive feature of the worldview of Dmitry Ikonnikov, who philosophically comprehends reality and equally reverently perceives everything given to man by God. A conversation with a beloved woman, a meal, a bottle of beer drunk on the balcony or a cup of coffee in the studio, urban landscapes of the legendary European capitals, a manhole on the pavement and a cellar grate in a Moscow courtyard, an old sewing machine, Mediterranean landscapes… All of them are of absolute value in the eyes of the artist, moreover, in his perception they are equivalent. The measure of conventionality chosen by the artist makes it possible to translate the simplest everyday object into a sign and symbol of Life, which at the appointed time will go to eternity (Elena Romanova, Advisor to the Russian Academy of Arts, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts)

He uses and combines various technical means of painting and drawing, develops his own technique, creates new materials that help him uniquely embody his personal experiences and ideas about time and about himself in his works.

Expanding the theme of Dmitry Ikonnikov’s travels at the beginning of the century, which include trips of different times to Montenegro, Croatia, Paris, Venice, etc., we proposed to call this part of his being like this: "Another life - other shores." A lot has been written about the series of works "Montenegro", "Paris" and about the artist’s trips to St. Petersburg, Croatia. But the first impressions of Dmitry himself about Paris are especially valuable: his enthusiasm, his disappointments, his criticism of those whom he once idolized.

When selecting the works, we severely limited their thematic diversity, which very advantageously emphasizes the “beauties and charms” of foreign voyages: famous architectural ensembles, beautiful details of architectural styles, tourists sitting in bistros on the central Parisian streets, mesmerizing seascapes and Mediterranean embankments. We settled on "non-formal" portraits, Dmitry’s modest "notes" about the daily non-tourist life of the inhabitants of these countries and cities.

Dmitry Ikonnikov and Mikhail Dronov are not only representatives of the same generation of the last third of the 20th century, but also artists who are close in spirit. Their joint exhibitions at the Gallery on Chistye Prudy (Two Masters, 2011) and at the Art Museum. V. S. Sorokin - the House of the Master ("Dialogues", Lipetsk, 2013) was really perceived as a dialogue of associates, recognized masters of various genres of fine art. They are brought together not only by the close connection of both with classical art, but also by the irony and fantasy of images, the search for unusual forms and unique techniques that often seem impossible for the materials used by the sculptor Dronov and the artist Ikonnikov.

The exhibition will feature works by the artist from the collection of the daughter of Darya Ikonnikova, private collections of the Shabliy family, Sazhin Alexander Vyacheslavovich, the ArtStory gallery, Mikhail Sudakov Sr. and Maria Ozhereleva, as well as from the collection of the exhibition curator Tatyana Paleyeva.

Works from the collection of Tatyana Paleyeva were last seen by the audience in the early 2000s. We have also prepared a selection of videos and interviews taken from Dmitry Ikonnikov at various times by various television companies in Russia.

Curator Tatyana Paleeva.