It is difficult to deny that over the past ten years Moscow radically revised its image. Some places left us permanently, and some, on the contrary, arose and tightly entered our lives. For example, the Sales Center "Afimoll", which this year celebrates its decade. During its existence, he became a real center for attraction of the Moscow-City quarter and not only. There you can assign a business meeting or a date, update the wardrobe and just have a good time.
In honor of the anniversary of "Afimolla" we were asked to share our memories of the past decades of various Moscow heroes. And today it is an artist Gosh Obstertsov.
The past decade turned out to be the beginning of complex tests: I lost all my Western galleries - Paris, Geneva, London, New York. Cooperation was interrupted with large collections of Charles Saatchi, Anita Zabludovich, Laurence Graph, Simon de Purei and others. The cause of this catastrophe was the economic and political crisis. The Russian policy began its crusade against freedom in the Western sense. Culture, and especially modern art as a tool for promoting Western ideology, fell under the shelling of one of the first. But this culture, unfortunately, there was nothing to oppose, since his own original culture was systematically destroyed by the Communist Party and are pressed until the present day. From year to year as a snowball, antagonism with Western culture is growing in an empty malice. For these ten years, a huge number of thinking talented entrepreneurs who acquired contemporary art were squeezed.
Once in such conditions, I had to overestimate the situation, the process of import substitution began, if so to speak. I began to collect in my artist's workshop and arrange weekly exhibitions. It turned out a kind of art club, which we called "Vellaz" and whose activities found support among local collectors and patrons.
As a result, three new Moscow gallery appeared, with one of which, Syntax (Elvira Tarnograd), I still work closely. All who entered our circle became successful masters of the Russian modern art scene.
For this decade, I managed to create several iconic projects for me: "Autotrans" in 2014 in the art center "Zarya" (Curator Alice Bogdanayte), a personal project "I was already kidnapped for 100 times" in Palazzo Nani Bernardo during the Venetian Biennale in 2017 Year, Sollands in the Gum-Red Line Gallery in 2019 and others.
In the same period, with my wife, the artist Lyudmila Konstantinova, three children were born: Efrosinia, Emelyan and Martyn. And they gave us so much happiness that all career failures were forgotten.
Each city has its own face, but, it seems to me, first of all, the city is known in the dynamics. So dynamically, as Moscow, you probably do not develop any other cities, if we compare with other European and Western megalopolisms. At the same time, buildings and whole quarters constantly disappear in Moscow, and we no longer notice. There was a hotel "Russia" - vertical dominant - once, and no. There was a "red October" by the plant, and turned into an art cluster. On the oozen, the former metrostro-street street, before there were beautiful profits at home, I still have bronze door handles at home - I still unscrewed them, and now at this place everything is completely different.
Choose your favorite and unloved areas of Moscow for me is a difficult question. A lot is associated with time and nothing can be said unequivocally. Sometime I liked Stalin's altars, and now I can't look at them.
I can highlight the City area - good and stunning. He is like the temple of Vasily blissing: in every building there is something unique, its own dynamics. One of my workshops was located directly opposite the "City", in the industrial zone, and there was an exit to the roof. I watched every day how the sun comes and illuminates these buildings. Or when you go on Kutuzovsky Avenue, around Stalin's houses, which are already perceived as Khrushchev, and then you see the incredible island of the future or supernating, which reflects the different states of the weather. Magnificent dominant. But inside the "City" I have no feeling, that is, this is the moment of contemplation.
From important changes for me, which occurred in Moscow over the past ten years - a metro station "Michurinsky Avenue" was built next to my temporary workshop, and it's just excellent. Three minutes on foot, and now visitors are easily getting, and it is easier to go to different cultural events yourself!
In general, I believe that Moscow cannot be spoiled. From year to year, it's better and better and even better, and even extremely controversial things, such as the monuments Peter the first, Kalashnikov or Vladimir Great, give Moscow healthy idiocy.
Some places where I constantly go, no. To be honest, I like to walk only in my workshop. I would not go out of it at all, because I'm doing there, and without creative process I only suffer.
And from the past decade I miss only at the departed Moscow friends, because the city is a body, and people are his soul.
In honor of the anniversary in the shopping center "Afimoll" there is a number of events, for example, in April, the exhibition "Cosmos - Far, Cosmos - Near" will begin, with a list of future events you can find here.
Photo: Louise Morin