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      (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov: Exhibitions >> Leningrad 80s >>

E-E Kozlov – Oleg Kotelnikov – Nikolai Veinert

LENING-ACCEE–RAD

Palace of Culture and Science, Peterhof, 1988





(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov . МИР (Л. Н. Толстой) / The World (Lev Tolstoy) Mixed media on canvas, approx. 170 x 110 cm, 1988. Inv.no E-E-188005
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov .
МИР (Л. Н. Толстой) / The World (Lev Tolstoy)
Mixed media on canvas, approx. 170 x 110 cm, 1988.
Inv.no E-E-188005




Examining the black and white photographs, I identified the following four of Kozlov's paintings:
• Любофь / Lofe
• СССР (Компьютер) / CCCP (Computer)
• АЭРОКОБРА / AEROKOBRA
• and – possibly – CCCP-USA

The fact that these paintings are all from 1987 (although the dating of AEROKOBRA is approximative) first made me think that the exhibition took place 1987.

The imprints close to the film perforation helped me to determine a different date, since they tell us when film manufactuer СВЕМА (SVEMA) produced the films. BR displays an imprint 3 СВЕМА М3 88 г., and the other one, EX, displays an imprint 14 СВЕМА М3 88 г., which means that both films were produced in March (M3, the third month of the year) 1988. Accordingly, the exhibition must have taken place in spring or, most likely, summer 1988 – it must have been warm outside, as Oleg Kotelnikov was painting bare-chested.

This later date has also allowed me to identify another one of Kozlov‘s paintings, a large portrait of Tolstoy from 1988. Furthermore, it is plausible to assume that Kozlov exhibited some large works on paper from 1988. The paper rolls next to the painting CCCP (Computer) in E-E-pho-X16 support this assumption.

The number of Kozlov's works displayed at the exhibtion may not have been very large, yet these works show the diversity of the artist‘s stylistic approaches, especially when we include Kozlov‘s joint work with Kotelnikov presented on the next page: we thus notice folk art, graffiti art, portrait painting, and constructivist figures. That diversity is all the more interesting as we are not speaking about stylistc changes developing over a certain period of time – say, from folk art to graffiti art the next year and to constructivism thereafter. Rather, we notice these styles as co-existing simulteaneously, to use such a tautology.

What unites these styles is the way Kozlov always combines his precise and elegant drawing technique, on the one hand, and his intution for colours, on the other hand, with some other feature I would call an element of compositional strangeness – something that has no simple or obvious explanation, but possesses a lot of charm.




I will try to explain this "strangeness" with the help of one of the paintings from the Peterhof exhibition, the painting Любофь / Lofe. It is one of the Kozlov's "easier" compositions: the work displays the figure of a soldier walking from the right to the left.

The reason why soldiers (and army) became a subject matter of Kozlov's work however requires an explanatory note.

Peterhof has several military schools, and in the 1980s, there was a small stadium for competitions and gatherings in the park next to "Galaxy Gallery", Kozlov's flat and studio. The sports ground was supplemented with an obstacle course – walls to climb over, holes to jump through, and a rusty metal wall serving as a target for grenades. All of this was publicly accessible.

 Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988. (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov at the metal wall serving as a target for grenades. Photo: Magnus Dahnberg. Timur Novikov at Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988 Photo: Magnus Dahnberg.

Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988. (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov at the metal wall serving as a target for grenades.
Photo: Magnus Dahnberg.

Timur Novikov at Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988
Photo: Magnus Dahnberg.

One of these objects, a large metal sheet set into a iron frame, had no particular function other than that of a being a work of art: some local craftsman working for the army had adorned it with a muscular shotputter wearing white sneakers with three stripes along the sides. Whether or not the artist's boss was aware of the fact that the stripes were a reproduction of the famous Adidas logo we don't know. But Kozlov much appreciated the naive style of this local Pirosmani. For his own portrait for the catalogue of the New Artists exhibition De Nya från Leningrad / The New from Leningrad at the Kulturhuset, Sweden (August 1988), he chose this very location.

Catalogue De Nya från Leningrad / The New from Leningrad" Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1988 P. 46 with picutres and biographies of participating musicians and artists The picutres show (clockwise, from top left) Yury Kasparan, Oleg Kotelnikov, Andrei Krisanov, Sergey Kuryokhin and Evgenij Kozlov. E-E) Evgenij Kozlov pointing towards a work of an unknown painter. Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988 Photo: Magnus Dahnberg. The picutre was reproduced in the catalogue De Nya från Leningrad / The New from Leningrad" Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1988 (see reproduction on the left)

Catalogue De Nya från Leningrad / The New from Leningrad
Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1988
P. 46 with picutres and biographies of participating musicians and artists
The picutres show (clockwise, from top left) Yury Kasparan, Oleg Kotelnikov, Andrei Krisanov, Sergey Kuryokhin and Evgenij Kozlov.
(
E-E) Evgenij Kozlov pointing towards a work of an unknown painter. Peterhof's obstacle course, 1988
Photo: Magnus Dahnberg. The picutre was reproduced in the catalogue De Nya från Leningrad / The New from Leningrad"
Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1988 (see reproduction on the left)

The anonymous painter's shotputter inspired Kozlov to a small sketch on a triangular piece of paper which led to an ink drawing: Любофь / Lofe. Although Kozlov's soldier is wearing a uniform and boots as a reference to the soldiers training at the obstacle course, yet he is depicted in the same simple, naive way as the shotputter.

Б.н. (Любофь) / Untitled (Lofe).  Wax crayon on paper, approx. 20 x 20 cm, 1987  E-E-187009 Б.н. (Любофь) / Untitled (Lofe) Ink on paper, 63.2 x 49 cm, 1987.  E-E-187010

Б.н. (Любофь) / Untitled (Lofe).
Wax crayon on paper, approx. 20 x 20 cm, 1987
E-E-187009

Б.н. (Любофь) / Untitled (Lofe)
Ink on paper, 63.2 x 49 cm, 1987.
E-E-187010

The painting exhibited at Peterhof University reproduces the triangular shape of the sketch. Here we return to the question of "strangeness": such an irregular shape is certainly strange, although if we compare it to the rectangular shape of the ink drawing, it turns out to be perfect for this very composition.


 Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988. Detail of E-E-pho-BR26. Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988  (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov Любофь / Lofe. Mixed media on canvas, 106 x 107 cm, 1987 Inv.no E-E-187024. Photo: Andrey Kuznetsov

Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988. Detail of E-E-pho-BR26. Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988

Right:
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov Любофь / Lofe. Mixed media on canvas, 106 x 107 cm, 1987
Inv.no E-E-187024. Photo: Andrey Kuznetsov



The next strangeness or oddity is the word Любофь / Lofe. It contains a deliberate spelling mistake: it should be Любовь / Love with a v, not with an f. Just as strange is the object carrying the inscription: is it a huge loaf of bread? A gigantic grenade? And what is the function of the curly tail attached to it?

And why are there several arrows pointing from the head into different directions? The arrow pointing left is obviously indicating the line of vision. But what about the other arrow pointing backward – surely nothing can be seen from the back of one's head?

While technique and colours both attract the viewer, such curious "surplus" features allow us to find for each work of art our own personal interpretation. I call them "surplus" features because they are not dominating the compositions, but simply invite us to create an individual relation to a specific work of art.

Below are the other works I identified, presented without addtional comments.




Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-EX16 The painting, painted in a horizontal format, stands in a vertical position. Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988 Right: Georgy Guryanov at E-E Kozlov's studio and flat Galaxy Gallery, 1987, with Kozlov's painting (rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise): СССР (Компьютер) / CCCP (Computer). Oil on canvas, 80 x 123 cm, 1987 Inv.no E-E-187028 Photo retrieved from Facebook

Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-EX16
The painting, painted in a horizontal format, stands in a vertical position.
Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988

Right: Georgy Guryanov at E-E Kozlov's studio and flat Galaxy Gallery, 1987, with Kozlov's painting (rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise):
СССР (Компьютер) / CCCP (Computer). Oil on canvas, 80 x 123 cm, 1987
Inv.no E-E-187028
Photo retrieved from Facebook



Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-BR23 Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988 (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov АЭРОКОБРА / AEROKOBRA. Mixed media o canvas, approx. 65 X 130 cm, 1987 Inv.no E-E-187015 Kozlov took this picture in his studio and flat Galaxy Gallery, 1987. Below the painting is a fragment of "Star", Inv.no E-E-187115

Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-BR23
Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988

Right: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
АЭРОКОБРА / AEROKOBRA. Mixed media o canvas, approx. 65 X 130 cm, 1987
Inv.no E-E-187015
Kozlov took this picture in his studio and flat Galaxy Gallery, 1987. Below the painting is a fragment of "Star", Inv.no E-E-187115



Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-BR23 Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988 (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov CCCP-USA. Mixed media on canvas, 83.5 x 61.5 cm, 1987 Inv.no E-E-187117 The attribution of this work to the one displayed in the black and white picture left is approximative.

Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, detail of E-E-pho-BR23
Photo: Nikolai Veinert, 1988

Right
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
CCCP-USA. Mixed media on canvas, 83.5 x 61.5 cm, 1987
Inv.no E-E-187117
The attribution of this work to the one displayed in the black and white picture left is approximative.



Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988, Detail of E-E-pho-BR26. Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov  МИР (Л. Н. Толстой) / The World (Lev Tolstoy). Mixed media on canvas, approx. 170 x 110 cm, 1988. Inv.no E-E-188005



Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988. Detail of E-E-pho-BR26. Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988

Right:
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
МИР (Л. Н. Толстой) / The World (Lev Tolstoy). Mixed media on canvas, approx. 170 x 110 cm, 1988. Inv.no E-E-188005




A detail of picture E-E-pho-ЕХ16 displays some rolls of paper – most probably Kozlov's rolled up works on paper from 1988. He painted a number of such works on the reverse – white – side of wall paper, devoloping a special technique similar to that of a monotype print (see next page). Five such works have been documented in E-E‘s photo archive for the year 1988; the whereabouts of the original works are unknown.

All works are in a horizontal format of 102 cm height (the width of the wall paper) and between 250 to 400 cm long. Below are two examples: Headhunters and The River of Forgetfulness, the latter being the only work documented with a colour reproduction.

 Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988. Detail of E-E-pho-BR26 displaying several paintings on paper rolled up for transportation Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988 (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov Охотники за черепами / Headhunters. Mixed media on paper, approx. 102 X 250 cm, 1988. Black and white reproduction. E-E-188020 Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988, Galaxy Gallery, Kozlov's flat and studio at Peterhof. The painting, hanging vertically for lack of space, is one of Kozlov's works from 1988 painted on the reverse of a roll of wall paper.
Left: Exhibition at Peterhof, 1988. Detail of E-E-pho-BR26 displaying several paintings on paper rolled up for transportation
Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988

Right:
(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
Охотники за черепами / Headhunters. Mixed media on paper, approx. 102 X 250 cm, 1988.
Black and white reproduction. E-E-188020
Photo: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, 1988, Galaxy Gallery, Kozlov's flat and studio at Peterhof.
The painting, hanging vertically for lack of space, is one of Kozlov's works from 1988 painted on the reverse of a roll of wall paper.

(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov Река забвения / The River of Forgetfulness. Mixed media on paper, 102 x 247 cm, 1988, Inv.no E-E-188017

(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov
Река забвения / The River of Forgetfulness. Mixed media on paper, 102 x 247 cm, 1988, Inv.no E-E-188017
The barrel distortion of parallel lines arises from the symmetry of the photographi
c lens.




Uploaded 17 October 2020