Arefieva and Mitki. Family Savinykh in the non-art
ARTinvestment.RU   12 января 2017

Gallery "vellum" will show about 200 works of Vladimir Shagin, Natalia Zhilina and Dmitry Shagin

ARTPLAY design Center / Small showroom
2-18 Feb 2017
Moscow, St. lower Syromyatnicheskaya, 10

the Project talks about creative ways families Savinyh that gave two generations of famous artists — prominent representatives of the post-war informal art of Leningrad.

Vladimir Shagin (1932-1999) — the head of the family and one of the main characters of the Leningrad artistic underground. In the early 1960-х Shahin, like many of his colleagues from "arefevsky circle", received 6 years in prison for anti-Soviet activities. After forced psychiatric treatment, a popular tool of repression in the USSR, Vladimir Shagin not moved away from creativity and fruitful work to the end of life.

Natalia Zhilina (1934-2005) was the wife of Vladimir Shagin, and also was part of the "arefevsky circle". Gradually she moved from common to the group expressionistic manners to the more quiet and centered the painting, feeling the influence of philosophy and theological literature. Natalia Zhilina illustrated Shakespeare, Bulgakov, oberiutov and designed scientific publications. And in 1970-х her works were exhibited at home and "gazanevsky" exhibitions, for which the artist was deprived of work, fired from the Art Fund. Zilina later became the wife of Boris Smelov (1951-1998), a legendary personality, the photographer, who was called one of the pillars of the Leningrad underground.

Dmitry Shagin (1957) — leader "Mitkov", the son of Vladimir and Natalia, have successfully continued their business. Graduated from a famous school — secondary art school at the Academy of fine arts. Among his teachers called in the first place their parents, then — of the informal leader of the Leningrad artists Alexander Arefiev, his stepfather Boris Smelov, which, says Shahin, "the two of us climbed on the roof and took pictures of" finally, another famous "Arefieva", Richard Vasmi.

Since 1976, Dmitry Shagin participated regularly in exhibitions of Leningrad unofficial art. He was among the founders and members of the Board of the group of TEII (Association of Experimental Fine Arts). In 1984, according to Shagin-младшего, invented the word "Mitki" — Dmitry — Mitya — MiTek. In 1985 the first exhibition was held, in the name of which was precisely that word. In the work "Mitki" have been preserved and continued to develop many of the features of figurative language "Arefieva". Both groups are distinguished by the attention to urban folklore, a simple-minded and at the same time ironic look on everyday life and its poetic treatment.

One of the blocks of the exhibitionthe project will include members of the legendary group "Mitka" — Andrei Filippov, Vasily Florensky, Vasily Golubev, Andrey Kuznetsov, Tatyana Suginoi etc.

the exhibition opens on 1 February 19:00.

Source: vellum.ru