News of the JINR Cultural Centre "Mir"

Reality is impermanent

In the exhibition hall of the JINR Cultural Centre "Mir" there is an art exhibition by Dmitry Korotkov and Ilya Kozin entitled "Without frames".

The ideological inspirers and organizers were Andrey and Savva Donchenkos. In their opinion, the ambitious and charismatic nature of the authors will provoke exhibition visitors to think and make their own interpretation of the paintings presented. We talked to Andrey and Savva to better understand the idea and essence of the exhibition that is not limited by boundaries.

Andrey Donchenko

The first question is obvious - how did you choose the characters for the exhibition and decide to unite them?

Andrey: The merging of heroes is a sudden idea. By nature, one watches how trees grow, the other stimulates their growth. This is in life. The basis of Dima's creativity is the absence of the pursuit of reality. Ilya has dynamic ideas in the manifestation of freedom on the plane. Filigree subtlety and perfect symmetry are not observed in any of them.

What inspired you so much about the paintings of these authors that you came up with the idea of creating their exhibition?

Savva Donchenko

Savva: Inspiration is a product of impression. This impression is impressionism. Its main and basic component is reality in impermanence. There is also a lack of photographic subject matter and a desire to embellish the beautiful. This is inherent in Dima's artwork. Ilya has reality in the sound of his stories. Sometimes - a universal mesmerizing action, sometimes - a mixture of rebellious elements. His artwork is in tune with modern realities, a riot of colors and youth expression.

What is it proposed to "talk" about to visitors of the exhibition in the language of the presented paintings?

Andrey: To convey to visitors the importance of the moment in courage and determination. As it turns out, there is no such thing as naive art. The main thing is the stubbornness with which the author promotes his vision. The task of transferring plein air to canvas and being satisfied is impossible. For some, the soup will be too salty or lightly salty. The core of the idea is rich in imagination and then it becomes art.

The peculiarity of the exhibition begins with the title "Without frames". What makes the whole idea unique?

Savva: Speaking in detail, a square is just a square. In the case of the presented exhibition, there are literally no boundaries. The viewer will not experience creative violence; the forebodings in the title will not be justified. "Without frames" is not a hint at false art and bad morals. More like an independent existence without the risk of destroying the unity of perception, simply being recognizable in your artwork.

For me, this story has a lot in common with the Moscow exhibition "A Brief history of absence". It had sections "Untitled", "Without author", "Without audience". Yours is "No frames". What will the guests of the exhibition hall be able to see at it?

Andrey: I began to think seriously about names after Dima's exhibition "Jazz" at the Savelovsky Cultural Centre. It was a run-through before sending the paintings to Dresden. The paintings on corrugated cardboard were huge, about two meters in size, approved and arranged for export, but due to the illness of the author, the trip was cancelled. So, about the name and its meaning. In 2008, in Kimry, they held a spontaneous show of Dmitry "for their own people" - a promenade called "Violator". I didn't immediately understand the meaning of the word, but it turned out to be "defiler". Most of the visitors were Kimry medical school and technical school students; quite a few schoolchildren also came. In Ilya's workshop, there is, as I call it, a "fairy-tale atmosphere through the looking glass" where the gaze is directed inward. His paitnings fit thematically into the upcoming show. You, Eleonora Robertovna, took care of the title "Without frames" and each viewer will have an individual interpretation of what they see.

An exhibition that evokes emotions in the audience is usually considered successful. What do you think?

Savva: It's too early to talk about the success of the exhibition. Creative suffering is not observed in the paintings. The ease of presentation of the matter confirms the lack of desire to please. The audience has the right to see both context and interiority in the paintings. What there certainly won't be is misunderstanding.

Andrey, Savva, perhaps, you have a personal favorite object from this exhibition? Tell me, please.

Andrey: my favorite objects (paintings) are certainly present in my private collection. The anthology of Korotkov's creative work has haunted me as an object of adoration with its storyline for 25 years. For three years, I have been impressed by the artwork of Ilya Kozin. Without exaggeration, visitors to his "fairy-tale workshop" at ORS will be treated to a truly aesthetic shock!

Savva: I don't have a favorite painting in my collection, not without reason. Each of the paintings can become loved only for a moment, until the gaze is transferred to another. I will be happy to share this huge world with visitors.

Very interesting! And perhaps you have some advice for readers that decide to visit the exhibition? Share it, please.

Andrey: Dear audience, take advantage of this opportunity to touch the real thing. The dominance of Internet sites is still not the best way to present information. We'll argue when we meet in the showroom.

Savva: The advice is this - let's just inspire each other!

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In academic dictionaries, the art of painting is defined based on etymology ("to paint" - to depict vividly, life-like). The basic expressive means of painting is color. Dmitry Korotkov and Ilya Kozin demonstrate their own reality in color in their paintings and we invite visitors to the exhibition hall to learn about their idea of the world.

Eleonora YAMALEEVA, Member of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation,
photo from personal archive of Andrey and Savva DONCHENKOS