Now

M17 Contemporary Art Center & Dymchuk Gallery 

Igor Gusev

Simulator of Snowiness

February, 7 – 29

Opening of the exhibition: February, 7 at 7 p.m.

Odessian Igor Gusev (born in 1970) is one of the leading Ukrainian artists. 

In 2009 his works were among the first to sell at Sotheby's. Since then none of influential auction, which has the Russian-Ukrainian string isn’t complete without paintings of Gusev.

But it's not just that. M17 loves Gusev for his painting. Gusev is for a large space, for dreamers who can see mirages. Money is money, but you are try to paint as Gusev do! One of the heads of the Moscow conceptualism Sergey Anufriev said about him:  “a titan of Renaissance and Avantgarde, Columbus and Magellan of new era”. Certainly, Sergey Alexandrovich, you are poet, but Gusev today is also extremely tender - see original text by Gusev additionally to his paintings. At the end of the century it was the mood of late, “fin de siècle”, but now we are issued in new times – time to delude, time to see Gusev’s works. Look at the "Tandem" - pure poetry! In conjunction with the humor and foresight this tandem is doomed to success.

Few facts from Gusev’s biography.

He sold his first painting in 1988 while a student at Odessa Art School in Intursalone at “Krasnaya” Hotel - a popular place for prostitutes. Sold for 500 rubles and thought: Everything is just beginning! Then followed  “Fuhrer under the control”, “Telepaparazzi”, “Paranoia of Purity”, “Funnyphrenia”, “Spam complaints” etc. None of  landmark exhibition of those years did not pass without paintings of Gusev.

20 years ago, in 1992 Gusev “was baptized” into Transavantgarde during legendary exhibition “Calm” which took place in a spacious halls of the M17, when they still were halls of the Union of Artists. Then his song "In Palermo for straw" (Russian version of the text to the music of Kurt Cobain) gained popularity in narrow circles.

In the mid-2000s Gusev established the first in Ukraine “artist-run-space” gallery NORMA (New Odessa Russian-Jewish Alternative). This project lasted more than three years. Under Gusev’s strict guidance movement of “art-raiders” appeared in Odessa. The project was well-known for its Neo-Dada actions on Starokonny, flea market of Odessa. At the same time Gusev began cooperation with irrepressible Odessa Kulturträger Anatoly Dymchuk.

In 2010 - 2011 his works has been successfully sold at auction Phillips de Pury.

But today forget about sales and auctions, imagine that “you are strength of sixteen, you were marked by night” as wrote while a young poet Igor Gusev and come into our halls, where you will meet his snowy mirages…