Let's try to see big in small:
Dmitry Kaznin's paintings
on the display at The 21 Century Gallery
Dmitry Kaznin's paintings
on the display at The 21 Century Gallery
By Anna Tikhonova and Alice Skachkova
Just imagine how many talented people without special education live in our world creating breathtaking masterpieces. Dmitry Kaznin is one of these amazing people. The exhibition "Big and Small", which runs from January 23 to February 20 in "The 21st Century Gallery", presents more than 50 paintings and graphic works of the artist.
Dmitry Kaznin was born in Tbilisi in 1974. He studied at the philological faculty of Kemerovo University, then at the Faculty of Journalism in Saint Petersburg State University. He worked at radio stations, in newspapers and magazines. He was the anchorman on the "Dozhd" TV channel until April 2014 and nowadays he presents a morning broadcast on Moscow FM radio station.
Unfortunately, the exhibition is located inconveniently, so it's a bit hard to find it without a navigator. Either on foot or by bus, it will take you about 20 minutes to get to the gallery from the metro station "Slavyanskiy Boulevard".
| At first sight, the building is imperceptible, you see an ordinary five-storey building with the inscription "21st Century Gallery". However, once you get inside, you are amazed by the interior and the cleanliness of the room. You are warmly greeted by the courteous museum staff enthusiastically telling the story of the exhibition, even if you don't ask for it. You sink into this friendly atmosphere at once. The pass costs 100 rubles, students get a 50% discount. |
The first hall of the exhibition is dedicated to graphics.
At the very beginning, our attention is drawn to the wall plate that tells about the author. The white walls of the hall contrast even with the paintings made with a pencil. Small sketches, black and white or bright and colored, seem to tell stories that are familiar to all of us: for example, the picture "For mother", the plot of which is familiar to every child who grew up in Russia. A girl with an unnaturally wide mouth tries to eat a whole cutlet, which is presented by an unknown person hidden behind the frame. To be honest, all paintings work on the principle of "the longer you look, the more terrified you are": strange shapes, distorted faces of the characters in the paintings and frightening metaphors. Modern art loves interactive content. In the first hall, there are two large tables with collages produced by the visitors, and the window sills are littered with magazines, newspapers, scissors and glue. Anyone can create a collage and place it in public view!
At the very beginning, our attention is drawn to the wall plate that tells about the author. The white walls of the hall contrast even with the paintings made with a pencil. Small sketches, black and white or bright and colored, seem to tell stories that are familiar to all of us: for example, the picture "For mother", the plot of which is familiar to every child who grew up in Russia. A girl with an unnaturally wide mouth tries to eat a whole cutlet, which is presented by an unknown person hidden behind the frame. To be honest, all paintings work on the principle of "the longer you look, the more terrified you are": strange shapes, distorted faces of the characters in the paintings and frightening metaphors. Modern art loves interactive content. In the first hall, there are two large tables with collages produced by the visitors, and the window sills are littered with magazines, newspapers, scissors and glue. Anyone can create a collage and place it in public view!
The second hall is dedicated to painting and seems more impressive and original than the first one.
The paintings are accompanied by philosophical reflections and stories from the author's life. In each of his works, the author ponders being, fills the canvas with personal memories, fears and questions. The picture "Into music school" describes the childhood of a typical Soviet child in a typical Soviet environment: brick houses, men wearing blue Adidas sport suit, a schoolboy with a violin going to the school of music. In this picture, the author plays with forms and time: the present mixes with the past, a man is depicted growing to the 3d floor of a building, huge, long hands of a man trying to catch the key to the apartment, a steamer in the yard behind the house and a flying man. This picture reflects the artist's thoughts: the fears of a little boy to be noticed by his friends, arguments about how terrible and dangerous the world is and how hard it is to live in reality of "not understanding how you can fly without leaving the room".
The paintings are accompanied by philosophical reflections and stories from the author's life. In each of his works, the author ponders being, fills the canvas with personal memories, fears and questions. The picture "Into music school" describes the childhood of a typical Soviet child in a typical Soviet environment: brick houses, men wearing blue Adidas sport suit, a schoolboy with a violin going to the school of music. In this picture, the author plays with forms and time: the present mixes with the past, a man is depicted growing to the 3d floor of a building, huge, long hands of a man trying to catch the key to the apartment, a steamer in the yard behind the house and a flying man. This picture reflects the artist's thoughts: the fears of a little boy to be noticed by his friends, arguments about how terrible and dangerous the world is and how hard it is to live in reality of "not understanding how you can fly without leaving the room".
The icing on the cake is a large wooden boat standing in the middle of the hall. The author, travelling through time and events of life, has collected all the most memorable things from childhood in the boat: there is a violin, which is familiar to us from the description of the previous painting, the case of which is filled with green plastic soldiers, a basketball, children's drawings, a palette of colors, skis. Everything in this boat is evidence of carefree and happy childhood.
The musical accompaniment of the exhibition can be called a strong minus of this event: Foreign Christmas songs don't combine with what we want to see and understand, only distracting us from the process of immersion in creativity. When asked why the exhibition had such a musical background, the organizer replied: "We don't have any snow this month and we've missed the winter, so we decided to create New Year's atmosphere here at our exhibition." Given that the music goes against the stories the artist offers, we found this explanation inappropriate.
Why is the exhibition called "Big and Small"?
Dmitry Kaznin explains it in the interview he gave to "Dozhd" Channel: "Small are children, tiny animals, for example, some dogs. This exhibition shows the weak co-existing with the strong. This is the idea of communication between an adult and a child, when sometimes you understand that the child is smarter than the adult, and that adults can learn from the young. The same can be said about animals, when you realize that our little brothers understand more than some of the humans".
Dmitry Kaznin explains it in the interview he gave to "Dozhd" Channel: "Small are children, tiny animals, for example, some dogs. This exhibition shows the weak co-existing with the strong. This is the idea of communication between an adult and a child, when sometimes you understand that the child is smarter than the adult, and that adults can learn from the young. The same can be said about animals, when you realize that our little brothers understand more than some of the humans".
Photos by Anna Tikhonova and Alice Skachkova
