Works by 19 artists from various eras, movements, and styles, united by one of the most iconic themes in painting. From classical still lifes of the Paris School and Lev Povzner’s acid surrealist interpretations, to Andreeva’s decorative-applied experiments and Zakharova’s embroidery, Skaletsky’s floral phantasms, and Parchikov’s photographic allusions. The collection also includes abstract works by Serebryakova and Muzalevsky, alongside painting and sculpture from Chelkovski's 'Flowers' series.
August 27 – October 19, 2024
The group exhibition "Something About Flowers" features works by nineteen artists, spanning nearly a century: from the classic floral still lifes of André Lanskoy, Nicolas Sinezouboff, Léonard Foujita, and other artists of that era, to the acid surrealist variations by Lev Povzner; from the decorative-applied experiments of the 1980s by Tatiana Andreeva to the photographic allusions of Tim Parchikov; from abstractions with references to floral motifs by Maria Serebriakova and Evgeny Muzalevsky; to Dunya Zakharova's embroidery and Igor Skaletski's floral phantasms; and the minimalist still lifes of Anya Zholud. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the large-format, vibrant canvases from Igor Chelkovski's "Flowers" series. Alongside these are works by the classic of Soviet modernism, Chelkovski's friend and mentor, Fedor Semenov-Amursky.
The floral still life has had a fluctuating fate: the aura of “lower” salon art and the stigma of student studios have haunted the genre from time to time. However, the expansion of artistic language, plastic experimentation, and new media have allowed the genre—this universal pictorial motif—to be rethought and continue evolving, remaining relevant.
For many Soviet artists who avoided the Socialist Realist canon and feared being accused of cosmopolitanism, excessive naturalism, and other forbidden “-isms” of the time, painting flowers became a quiet refuge. For instance, Fedor Semenov-Amursky, who was educated at Vkhutemas-Vkhutein in the late 1920s and spent many years working in illustration and graphics, chose this path of "minor" genres. After being accused of formalism in 1946, a charge tantamount to a declaration of professional and political unreliability, Semenov-Amursky virtually disappeared from the public exhibition scene. He worked privately, mostly on cardboard and paper, exploring the plastic possibilities of painting through landscapes and still lifes. In 1954, Semenov-Amursky met Igor Chelkovski. As Dmitry Alexandrovich Prigov recalled, Chelkovski "was long captivated by the irresistible charm of his unique personality." The two artists remained friends and corresponded until Chelkovski left for France in 1976.
Shortly before his emigration, in the early 1970s, floral motifs began to appear in Chelkovski’s work—he started developing the concept for his famous outline sculptures, including themes with vases and flowers. For Chelkovski, flowers are not only an astonishingly beautiful creation of nature but also a universal elemental force in art, intuitively understood by everyone. In the exhibition "Flowers," Chelkovski’s outline floral compositions and Semenov-Amursky's still lifes from the 1970s engage in a remarkable dialogue.
Chelkovski's later compositions—silkscreens and paintings from the "Flowers" series (2000s to present)—are characterized by bold, bright colors and simplified forms set against flat, contrasting backgrounds. The minimalism of this series connects them to the still lifes of Anya Zholud, who—like Chelkovski—is also a sculptor and adept at working with volume through geometric forms. Her floral works are graphic and monochrome. At the same time, in her quest to reproduce the true appearance of a plant, Zholud aligns herself with botanists: every flower is drawn from life and has a real prototype. As she notes: "In general, it's very difficult to paint a flower without it looking kitschy." In these words lies the central challenge of this genre.
At Alina Pinsky Gallery, flowers are abundant today. Following a punctuated historical approach to the theme, three sections are proposed: Parisian émigrés of the past century stand alongside Soviet nonconformism and contemporary art. Why so? Why not?
Almost everyone paints flowers.

There are strange convergences... In prestigious exhibition halls, the academic view of art history with its strict categorization and evaluation of artists’ significance is increasingly suspended. Alina Pinsky Gallery dares to question commonly accepted judgments. The bouquets of the Paris School are the perfect material for doubt. The very notion of "school" in this case was marked by exceptional looseness, boiling down to the close interaction of a large circle of artists. Everyone there painted flowers. Or almost everyone...
Lyudmila Bredikhina
from the introductory article to the exhibition catalogue
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