The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. “Essence of Life — Essence of Art” the traveling exhibition of European graphic arts

“Essence of life — Essence of art” is a graphic arts exhibition of modern artists from the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe. In September 2005 it was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Budapest (the Museum Ludwig). In 2006 it will be held in the Russian museum of St. Petersburg and in Riga. The author of this project is an artist and curator Yadran Adamovich born in Saraevo. Now he lives in New York. It is a continuation and development of his previous project — “Fra-Yu- Cult” (Fraction of Yugoslav Culture) which was realized in the Franciscan abbey in Herzegovina in 1990. Works of the brightest artists of the Adriatic region were exhibited there. Companionship with Ilia Kabakov and Alexander Kosolapov inspired the curator to enlarge the exhibition by using works of representatives of Russian art and other countries of the Central and Eastern Europe.

Selecting the exhibitors, Adamovich followed his own artistic likes forming a unique group of kindred authors with the same creative research. The curator is mainly prepossessed in the Russian artists (including immigrants from the Soviet Union) by the academic basis of their creative work. Their art is intelligent and their projects are usually scrupulously documented. Thus, the curator thinks that this sort of peculiar traveling exhibition must once again show special value of the Eastern European conceptual art, sots-art and the experience of Russian advance guard and constructivism which are topical for artists and popular with the public.

The important component of the project was a four hundred and eight – page catalogue in English and in Russian made by Yadran Adamovich and co-arranger of the exhibition Sofia Mourashkovskaya.

There are about two hundred works in the exhibition, basically drawing in pencil, indentation and water color. Some works are collage, printed graphics and photos.

The exhibitors are as follows: Yadran Adamovich, Yuri Albert, Yuri Avvakumov, Eric Boulatov, Brako Dmitrievitch, Elena Elagina, Magdalena Etelova and Oleg Koulik, Vadim Zakharov, Irvin, Emilia and Ilia Kabakov, Ivan Kafka, Julia Knifer, Alexander Kosolapov, Milomir Kovachevitch, Marko Kovachitch, Ivan Kozarich, Igor Makarevich, Vlado Martek, Andrei Monastyrski, Pavel Peppershtein, Viktor Pivovarov, Dmitry Prigov, Leonid Sokov, Mladen Stilinovich, Raza Todoshievitch, Yusuf Khadzifeizovich, Ivan Chuikov, Yanosh Shougar, Rosa El-Khasan.

Based on the Web site of the State Tretyakov Gallery