Presentation of the inaugural book published as part of GARAGE.txt—a grant program in support of authors writing on contemporary art in Russian.
Vladimir Salnikov (1948–2015) was an artist and critic who honed a sharp and edgy sense of the local Russian art scene. After graduating from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute in 1971, he continued to teach there until 1982—even though his reputation always remained that of an iconoclastic nonconformist. His colleagues have included Andrey Goncharov (founder of OST, The Society of Easel Painters), curator Viktor Misiano, and director Alexander Fedulov, for whom Salnikov worked as production designer at two of his animation films. His students include such influential artists and art historians as Irina Nakhova, Natalya Smolyanskaya, and Elena Gerchuk among others.
Picasso’s Never Heard of Us is a collection of articles on the culture of the four decades from the 1960s to the early 2000s by artist and critic Vladimir Salnikov. Mixing analysis with autobiographical elements, the book offers the reader an opportunity to revisit each decade and see it from the point of view of a contemporary observer and a participant in many of the events described.
Salnikov’s writings look into a wide variety of art phenomena, from various periods in the history of twentieth century art (and post-war art in particular) to particular artists of various generations, exhibitions and new trends, strategies and movements that emerged in Russian art.
The discussion will feature compiling editor Irina Gorlova, curator Viktor Misiano, art critic Andrey Kovalev, and artist Nina Kotel.