Zukunfstroman (2005)

Paintings

Научно-фантастический роман (2005)

Живопись

Exhibitions: Zukunfstroman-1. Atelier Am Eck, Dusseldorf, 24.06.-10.07.2005; Major Project. Suzy Wong Gallery at ArtPlay Design Center, 2005; Unavoidable and Unnecessary, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, 2008–2009.

Выставки: Zukunfstroman-1. Atelier Am Eck, Дюссельдорф, 24.06.–10.07.2005; Большой проект. Галерея Suzy Wong, центр дизайна ArtPlay, Москва, 2005; Необходимое и необязательное. Московский музей современного искусства, Москва, 2008–2009.

UFOs, missiles, cosmonauts, extraterrestrials, and supernatural threats have been present in Shutov’s works since the 1980s. These archetypes of “contemporary mythology,” as the artist calls them, are related to a specifically Russian phenomenon—late nineteenth-century cosmism, a spiritual and philosophical trend that planned preparations for mankind’s future resurrection in outer space. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky worked on the technical aspects of that transformation all his life. The flying apparatuses he invented and built made him a pioneer of space flight and shaped the prototypes of the new cosmic iconography.

Shutov’s series of paintings, made in Dusseldorf, addresses the theme of ruined utopia with gentle irony and concealed sadness. These works use collage to present various pages in the history of Russian art, and the juxtaposition creates a motley cocktail of styles. The golden fields of icons, Constructivist elements of composition, and cosmic heroes of Russian comics speak to the diversity of possible artistic visions and utopias. Here, utopian thinking, considered largely a Russian quality, turns history painting into a promise of the present.