Moscow Museum of Modern Art presents a solo exhibition of painter Viktor Dynnikov (1939-2005). On view December 18, 2010 — January 16, 2011.
Dynnikov was born on October 25 — the same day as Pablo Picasso, but 58 years later. Dynnikov regarded this coincidence with irony: «The fact that I have discovered such a parallel with a great Fauve like him boosted my morale. Why should I feel inferior if I was born and live in such a great place as Russia?» After school and military service, Dynnikov enrolled in the faculty of graphic arts at the Pedagogic Institute in Krasnodar. After having spent three years there, he abandoned everything and moved to Leningrad. He wanted to acquire fundamental artistic education, so he was admitted to the Academy of Arts. The drawing of a sitter that he created during entry exam hung in the office of the admission committee for many years after, as a perfect example.
In 1970, after graduating from the Academy, Dynnikov moved to Vladimir — ‘a blessed corner, nice and graceful to the core,’ as he later wrote. Enduring years came: he had neither a studio, nor even a place to live. Then Dynnikov’s works were often judged ambiguously: «My searches and those of my friends weren’t welcomed by everyone. A searching creation didn’t fit into the cheerful system called ‘Vladimir school of landscape painting’. We didn’t match them. Talented veterans tried to teach us how to live and create in the right way. But we were young and had our own opinions.»
With equal dose of passion, Dynnikov worked in pastel, gouache, and charcoal, attaching huge importance to the material. He often varied the same motif in different techniques, looking for the best accord with his thoughts, feelings, and plastic sensations that changed through time. During 35 years spent in Vladimir, the artist took part in nine exhibitions, including two solo shows (1985 and 1989). The second of these shows faced harsh antagonism from the regional committee of the communist party that claimed the exhibition to be too ‘mundane’, with an absence of any positive character.
Since 2006, thanks to the efforts of three galleries — ARS LONGA, ART-RA, and EXPO-88 — Dynnikov’s works were presented in 25 exhibitions, including 12 solo shows, and the artist’s name became familiar to a wide circle of professionals and public. To commemorate the artist’s jubilee, the galleries published an album that includes over 150 pieces from the extensive heritage of the artist.
The exhibition hosted by the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (25 Petrovka Street) will be the first full-scale retrospective of the artist, presenting well-known and lesser-known works.
Image: Viktor Dynnikov Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Moscow Museum of Modern Art is the first state museum in Russia that concentrates its activities exclusively on the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since its inauguration, the Museum has expanded its strategies and achieved a high level of public acknowledgement. Today the Museum is an energetic institution that plays an important part on the Moscow art scene.
Moscow Museum of Modern Art was unveiled on December 15, 1999, with the generous support of the Moscow City Government, Moscow City Department of Culture and Yuri Luzhkov, the Mayor of Moscow. Its founding director was Zurab Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts. His private collection of more than 2.000 works by important 20th century masters was the core of the Museum’s permanent display. Later on, the Museum’s keepings were enriched considerably, and now this is one of the largest and most impressive collections of modern and contemporary Russian art, which continues to grow through acquisitions and donations.
Today the Museum has three venues in the historic centre of Moscow. The main building, which houses the permanent collection and holds temporary exhibitions, is situated on Petrovka street, in the eighteenth-century mansion originally belonging to merchant Gubin, desiged by the renowned neoclassical architect Matvey Kazakov. Apart from that, the Museum owns two splendid exhibition venues: a vast five-storey building in Ermolaevsky lane, and a spacious gallery in Tverskoy boulevard, both fully refurbished for hosting large-scale projects.
www.mmoma.ru