Igor Dryomin: Exhibition of Sergei Bazilev Automatic translate

“I really do not like generalizations. It seems to me that when a person generalizes, he simply evades responsibility. I always need specifics. I love refinements. ” Sergey Bazilev.

The ARTSTORY Gallery presents a retrospective of the painting of one of the main artists of Russian hyperrealism, Sergei Bazilev. This is a rare opportunity to get acquainted in such detail with almost the last major trend in the art of the 20th century by the example of the works of its outstanding representative.

“The effect of hyperreality arose primarily due to the fact that the source image captured with the“ one eye ”of the photo lens, through the pictorial interpretation, passed through the binocular vision of the artist… In the interpretation of the Soviet“ hyper ”, the picture of reality is stratified, cracked and looks damaged by multiple tears ”, - writes art critic, head of the department of the latest trends of the State Tretyakov Gallery Kirill Svetlyakov in the introductory article to the catalog of the exhibition project“ Clarification ”.

The ARTSTORY gallery will show about 100 works by Sergei Bazilev of different years - from the first hyper-realistic painting "Tara", dated 1971, to paintings specially written for the new exhibition. Bazilev works in series, - the project “Refinement” presents works from relatively new series - “Rose Wine”, “Dead Heroes”, “Water Structures”, “Toasts”, “Illuminated by the Sun”, as well as from projects that have already become history of Russian art “Letter of God,” “Matchball,” and “Travel Notes.” Also, for the first time, part of the paintings from the new large project, on which Bazilev is currently working, is entitled “Legends of the Central Army Sports Club” (portraits of Viktor Tikhonov, Irina Rodnina, Elena Isinbaeva).

Domestic hyperrealism arose as a contrast between the reality of private life and official Soviet ideals. The main characters often became the authors themselves, their friends and relatives, loved ones, or those whom the artists sincerely admired. So, in the mid-80s, Bazilev met Andrei Tarkovsky. He met, as he recalls, through the director’s sister Marina. She sent the work of the then young author to the world-famous film director. Tarkovsky’s work seemed interesting to Bazilev, and he invited the artist to participate in his projects. Hopes for cooperation, alas, were not destined to come true. The death of the director prevented. Bazilev only managed to write "Portrait of Andrei Tarkovsky" (1986). The work received a "Gold Medal" at the International Exhibition "Portrait of a Contemporary" in the Central House of Artists. This picture will be presented in the framework of the “Clarification” project.

At the exhibition, the audience will meet the heroes of different years. Here are portraits of real characters of the domestic art scene, and “synthetic” images of contemporaries of the 90s, zero and present, tenths. Landscapes and still lifes - the artist works in almost all genres of easel art. Bazilev uses the traditional painting technique of writing, and writes only in oil paints, but on a very diverse basis - on canvas, wood, vinyl screens, corrugated cardboard, tin sheets, even on the surface of tennis rackets. He prefers a wide brush, often even writes with his hands, surprisingly creating the finest valers, penetrating into the very essence of color, exposing it and structuring it.

The name of the project “Refinement” is from the poem of the same name by the beloved poet Bazilev Joseph Brodsky. As Sergey says: “I really do not like generalizations. It seems to me that when a person generalizes, he simply evades responsibility. I always need specifics. I love refinements. ”

Sergey Bazilev is the organizer and participant of the very first exhibitions of hyperrealist artists. Born in Kiev in a family of artists, studied at the Kiev State Art Institute, and already in 1971, in his first year, he painted his first painting in the style of hyperrealism - “Tara”. Later, he taught for a long time at his native institute, and trained at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. And in 1980, Sergey Bazilev became a member of the Six group (Sergey Bazilev, Alexei Tegin, Sergey Sherstyuk, Sergey Geta, Igor Kopytyansky, Nikolay Filatov), ​​and participated in her projects until the group collapsed in 1987. In 1984, Sergei Bazilev moved to Moscow, where he still lives and works.

Sergey Bazilev is a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, a participant in more than 100 group and personal exhibitions in Russia and abroad. The artist’s works are in many Russian and foreign museums and collections. Among them: the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Peter Ludwig Museum in Cologne, the Walter Bischoff Museum in Stuttgart, the Norton Dodge Museum in the USA, the Alpha Cubic Gallery (Japan) as well as in many corporate and private collections in America, Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan and other countries.

This is the first solo exhibition of Sergei Bazilev in the space of the ARTSTORY gallery. A catalog will be published for the project.