Special project "Nikolai Kasatkin. Double Picture "at the State Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val, will be held from 13.03 to 26.07.2015.
Simultaneously with the exhibition "Hyperrealism. When reality becomes an illusion" Tretyakov Gallery represents a special project of the Moscow artist Nicolai Kasatkin (b. 1932). Based on the experience of photorealism and conceptual practices of the second half of the twentieth century, the artist reconsiders the traditions of landscape painting and the principles of full-scale perception, creates a situation of 'dual optic'
For N.Kasatkin, one of the classics of modern art, special project will be the first personal exhibition in the museum space. Creative method of the artist, graduate of MGAHI of Surikov (1959), was formed in the 1960-1970 period in active communication with E.Bulatov and O.Vasilev. In the field of contemporary art practices Kasatkin stayed between the absolute overcoming of the visual strategy of Kabakov and almost hyper-realistic visuality of E.Bulatov. Natural impression, the experience of reality is always his first impulse to creativity. However, a composite artistic reality of his works is multilayered and involves the coexistence of different worlds and spaces. There is an effect of dual optic effect or double picture when each job includes another, and individual vision of the author integrates into "collective eye." The most important place in the work takes N.Kasatkin’s landscape, attracting of its combination of length and intimacy, epic and concreteness.
Thus, natural detail of foreground of landscapes, sometimes similar to blende allows the viewer to "enter" into the picture, where a perfect world will open to him. This principle increases the depth of the space of work, leaving the picture plane untouched.
It is important that the monographic exhibition of the artist will be held at the Tretyakov Gallery, with frequent visits of which are associated with outstanding and significant memories of master, and in a series of works presented at the exhibition, cited textbook works from the museum's collection: "Rye" by I.Shishkin, "Wet Meadow" by F. Vasiliev, "In Blue Space" by A.Rylov.
The last is exhibited in the space of a special project, allowing the viewer to see the reflection of N.Kasatkin on textbook image of Russian painting.
The concept of the exhibition – is the phenomena of citation and 'dual optic' in the works of Kasatkin. Retrospective sample includes works of the author from the beginning of the 1970s until recent years, reflecting all stages of the evolution of the artist.
