Olivie

The exhibition took shape not just for several years. The meanings inherent in the exhibition do not lie on the surface. On May 26 at 19:00, the curator of the exhibition, Vladimir Opara, will talk about the history of the exhibition and the meanings inherent in it.

In 2018-2019, a series of exhibitions "Sustainability Art" was presented in the Netherlands. These were exhibitions about the sustainability of civilization in terms of art. Art is an expression of the humanitarian values ​​of civilization and the sustainability of art determines the sustainability of civilization. The organizers decided to make the Sustainability of Art exhibition in Moscow in 2020, and this idea was supported by the leadership of the Fabrika Center for Creative Industries. The pandemic disrupted the plans, and the exhibition was postponed to 2021, then to 2022. But already in 2020, it became obvious that the pandemic and other events in the world make the concept of the Sustainability of Art exhibition not as relevant as it was in 2018. New threats have arisen of our civilization, which have been overshadowed by environmental problems. The organizers of the exhibition saw that the benefits brought to our lives by digital technologies have a reverse side and the reverse side makes us reconsider some futuristic positions. The thoughtless, criminal use of the planet's resources, the unwillingness to understand the countries that are on the sidelines of civilization, the division of the world into rogue countries and "democratic" countries lead to military confrontation, which puts the world on the brink of complete destruction.

Art Sustainability has been transformed and developed into an exhibition with a new concept. The name has changed. The name of the exhibition "Standing at the Crossroads" very accurately reflects the concept of the exhibition.

Exhibition curator Vladimir Opara expresses his gratitude to Maarten Bertheux (Amsterdam) for discussing the new concept and title of the exhibition, as well as to Saskia Gras, curator of the Sustainability of Art exhibition (The Hague, Netherlands) for bringing up an important topic for artists.

Indeed, humanity is at a crossroads and it will have to make a difficult choice, a choice that will have colossal consequences. Artists, curators, art critics, writers, creative personalities will speak out about the problems they see, standing at the crossroads of civilization and about their choice of path, the path that they see.

Natalya Tolstaya (Moscow), artist-philosopher, great-great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy, is looking for answers to the questions of the development and sustainability of civilization in signs, symbols, words preserved in culture and that have come down to us. Natalia, like her world-famous great-great-grandfather, stands at the crossroads, and tries to understand the ways of civilization development. From Leo Tolstoy and his sometimes painful search to Natalia Tolstaya and her search for a way today.

Artists Asya Dodina and Slava Polishchuk see the problems inside and around themselves, examining objects thrown out by people and the ocean after a hurricane, which are perceived by everyday consciousness as garbage. They discover that concrete and steel structures were the first to be destroyed by the hurricane, while small, light objects remained unscathed. A series of works and the film "What Remains" are presented at the exhibition.

Vladimir and Maya Opara (Moscow) in the video installation "Very close to each other", which includes: "Buzz of space", "Island of Holland", "Black Book", "Horizon Line" try to imagine the world of the future without states, in the form of islands and megacities. Vladimir and Maya see the Netherlands (Holland), a country that is under the constant threat of flooding and has learned to live with this constant, every second danger, as an example of the future of the world.

Julia Winter tries to feel the future through immersion in the past. It creates transitions from one reality to another, shows how the passage of time constantly changes our perception. The past is awakened in the reconstruction of fragments or with the help of fragments of memories.

Apandi Magomedov turns to natural materials and folk practices. It shows the lost path of civilization - perhaps it is necessary to abandon modern technologies that are leading the world to disaster.

Eva van der Zand and Masha Volkova are interested in ecology, climate change, problems of the atmosphere, the air we breathe. Their video is a piece of poetry filled with fabrics, like a green screen talking about problems. A map showing the new hidden worlds of the clouds. Images of rotating realities. Images of twisted realities.

Anita Mizrahi explores the artistic life of Moscow, meets with artists, records interviews.

The creative association "Station Dno" - a group of Moscow intellectuals explores the impact of new technologies and AI (Artificial Intelligence) on human creativity and the possibility / impossibility of their mutual coexistence in the coming era of singularity. The presence in the project of the name and personality of the writer Leo Tolstoy implies an invitation to the project and contemporary writers "standing at the crossroads". The exhibition will feature texts and video interviews of curators of various trends in art, art critics, creative personalities reflecting on civilizational problems.

Exhibition Participants:

Vladimir Opara/Moscow
Maya Opara/Moscow
Natasha Tolstaya/Moscow
Asya Dodina/New York
Slava Polishchuk/New York
Julia Winter/Amsterdam
Creative Association "Station Dno" / Moscow
Anita Mizrahi/ Anita Mizrahi/Amsterdam
Eva van der Zand/Amsterdam
Masha Volkova/Amsterdam
Apandi Magomedov/Makhachkala

Dates: May 26, 19.00
Address: Perevedenodskiy pereulok 18, Olivie

Participants of the exhibition: Vladimir Opara (Moscow), Maya Opara (Moscow), Natasha Tolstaya (Moscow), Asya Dodina (New York), Slava Polishchuk (New York), Yulia Vinter (Amsterdam), Creative Association "Dno Station" ( Moscow), Anita Mizrahi / Anita Mizrahi (Amsterdam), Eva van der Zand / Eva van der Zand (Amsterdam), Masha Volkova (Amsterdam), Apandi Magomedov (Makhachkala, Dagestan).