The Common Goal Philosophy. Glossary.

The new exhibition at the GUM-Red-Line Gallery is a part of the collective project entitled The Common Goal Philosophy. It is a large-scale art performance in two acts: creation of a collective artwork by 20 Russian contemporary artists at the Cosmoscow 2019 Fare at Gostiny Dvor, and an exhibition of the participants of this event at the Gallery. The exhibition represents a symbolic archive fund: the artworks of the most aspiring representatives of the Russian contemporary art scene is the material, the documents are a certain time period, a fragment of the comprehensive image of the art of the beginning of the 21st century. The Gallery visitors will find themselves at a treasury for artefacts from the current historic period and become witnesses of the process of classifying the “here and now” moment. The mobile stands allow to modify the set of the exhibition at any time. Upon the completion of Cosmoscow, a 140-square meter canvas painted by the artists during the project will be transferred to the Gallery. Consequently, the artworks will be displayed in a progression that might involve the exhibition visitors who can change the position of the mobile stands according to their liking. By changing the exhibition format, the Gallery will become a space of direct interaction with artworks.

The Common Goal Philosophy Project was conceived by its author, Gosha Ostretzov, as an artistic and philosophical experiment. Based on the ideas of the founders of the Russian cosmism, it is a tribute to the interconnection of the elements of the Universe. While the collaboration at Cosmoscow symbolizes cosmic interaction of the artists’ work, the display of their personal paintings at the Gallery shows some random examples of the “ecological” environment of the Russian contemporary art. It is not a subjective selection of outstanding authors, but more of an example of a living area, a demo of the art scene climate that allows for artists of different generations to get involved in a dialogue, while their art coexists in a single cultural environment.

The project is intimately connected with the linguistic system. Its operational part, collaborative creation work is a vibrant communicative art language.

The exhibition at the Gallery is a glossary, a list of main terms, authors’ signs, that facilitate creative interaction. The mobility of the exhibition helps the visitors to learn this language. Thus, the artworks presented at the Gallery will add up to an interactive vocabulary, while the alternative of changing their order allows us to compile a new “text” of the exhibition.

The mobile stands at the exhibition are made in the shape of grids that look like museum collection depositary cells. On one hand, the preservation of an artwork adds significance to such an item, on the other hand, it represents a certain isolation of this item from its authentic environment. A collective artwork created during an event divided into parts and included in a Gallery exhibition becomes a relic upon the completion of a creative process. The new conText will also involve works taken from the workshops
of the artists. The exhibition is a symbolic time capsule that shows preserved elements from a single milieu. It is a visual metaphor of a cosmic fragment under examination. The artists demonstrate universal paradigms through their work. Each of them takes personal responsibility for the joint effort as a part
of the cosmic interaction system.

Text – Elizaveta Shagina

Artists of The Common Goal Philosophy Project

Georgy Ostretsov
Vladimir Dubossarsky
Pavel Pepperstein
Irina Korina
Tanya Pioniker
Olga Bozhko
Ksenia Dranysh
EliKuka Art Group
Konstantin Zvezdochetov
Alisa Yoffe
Liudmila Konstantinova
Oleg Kotelnikov
Olga Kroytor
Daria Krotova
Georgy Litichevsky
Misha Most
Sergey Pakhomov (Pakhom)
Alexander Petrelli
Valery Chtak
Inal Savchenkov
Nikolay Filatov
Natalia Struchkova