QUARTA Gallery presents exhibition VARIANTS from October 21 to November 20 at “ARTIME.CLUB”

While creating an elaborate piece of art, which in its final form is meant to appear before the viewer, the customer or general public, the artist makes a large number of sketches, variants and drawings. Flicking through a book with illustrations, sympathizing with the cartoon characters, admiring the beauty and comfort of a lovely interior we rarely realize that beyond the book, the frame or the room there are hundreds of fascinating artistic ideas left on paper in pencil, ink or paints. And very often each idea is not just a momentary thought of the artist but a complete piece of art which can be interesting not only for the narrow circle of creators but also for the connoisseurs of graphic arts, collectors and a wide range of viewers.

Sketches for book illustrations, animated movies and residential interior reflect an exuberant flight of imagination which is not yet limited by definitions and therefore strives to explore the wide field of artistic alternatives. These are the Variants which are born from the depth of the artist’s heart without being censored either on the inside or the outside, totally free and magnificent in their uniqueness.

The “Variants” exhibition combines different authors who possess, besides obvious mastership and talent, amazing life stories producing in the result rich legacy of artworks, which unknown part — the sketches and drawings for various materialized and non-materialized projects — will be presented to the viewers for the first time.

Among them is the brilliant architect, graphic artist and painter Vassily Minyaev (1907 — 1993) who devoted several years to elaborating the themes based on literary pieces by А. S. Pushkin, J. Goethe and W. Shakespeare, European mythology and Oriental legends. His structured colorful artworks strike with their originality, while his designer sketches executed for ordinary Soviet Houses of Culture in the 1960s look extremely modern reflecting the cosmic spirit of the 21^st century.

The exhibition also presents the sketches for book illustrations by Evgeny Rastorguev (1920 — 2009), who is more famous for his artworks and graphics of the “Gorodets series”. Since 1960 the artist cooperated with the “Junost” (Youth) magazine, where he worked as an illustrator, and from the mid-1960s he dedicated a lot of time to book graphics — the painter illustrated more than 100 books in various publishing houses, such as “Detgiz”, “Molodaya Gvardiya” and “Soviet writer”.

Among little-known artists QUARTAGallery presents its discovery — Natalia Orlova (1922 — 1960), whose graphic legacy is imbued with the breath of the 1950s, with the experimental spirit and unusual color palette. Orlova’s bright star went dark quite early because of a fatal disease though she managed to make an invaluable contribution into the book illustration having worked on the creation of the first volumes of the Great Children’s Encyclopedia (1958 — 1962).

The “Variants” exhibition would also like to present contemporary artists who follow the tradition and glorious school of the 20^th century artists, at the same time interpreting them in the language of modern artistic styles: Ludmila and Natalia Varlamovs and Julia Golavskaya.

Ludmila Varlamova not only works in all possible genres but also experiments with very unusual materials — from heavy tapestry to a light veil. Her exquisite book illustrations presented at the exhibition were created in the monotype technique and possess specific lightness and magic air. The works were implemented for the book «Russia’s poetry legends» by E.Tonchu in 1998.

Natalia Varlamova is a VGIK (All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography) graduate, the author of bright and amazingly deep and impressive graphic artworks, a painter and an animation film director who created a series of miraculous animated pieces based on folk and authored world-famous literary pieces: А. Blok “Balaganchik” (Little Circus), Andersen “Thumbelina”, “Ayu-Dag. Based on the legend of the Bear’s Mountain”, “Humpty-Dumpty”, “Brownie from Fran Den”.

One more example of a diversified gift is the artist, designer and photographer Julia Golavskaya whose sketches of interiors and the photo series “House. One more white day” created on the basis of the same drawings fill the viewer with overwhelming warmth and provoke the desire to dive into the fantasized space spreading such coziness and love for the human dwelling.

Each work presented at the “Variants” exhibition is a whole world containing the artist’s desires and aspirations and also a spiritual magnet radiating the power of the eternal and undoubtedly fascinating world literary legacy, any contact with which alters both our perception of life and ourselves irreversibly.

VARIANTS exhibition will take place at the art space “ARTIME.CLUB” at:

12 Kuznetsky Most, 3^rd floor, studio 333

From October 21 to November 20.

Working hours: daily except Monday from 14.00 to 21.00

The Opening is on Friday October 21^st at 19.00