Painting of the XX century, Room 2

The development of unofficial art followed the path of evolving qualities such as the rejection of commercialism, the cohesion of a larger creative circle in an intimate environment, the cultivation of individuality, and the rejection of an egalitarian system. Thus, within the nonconformist movement, a series of small communities were formed, resembling the traditions of secret organizations. The late 1950s and 1960s were marked by the revival of art, often referred to as the "second renaissance" or the "second avant-garde." However, it failed to achieve official recognition. After the devastating exhibition at the Manege in 1962, the artists split into two groups: those willing to compromise and those who went off the radar into the artistic underground.

Persecution of unofficial art continued, but in 1974, another attempt to achieve official recognition was made, which was the "Bulldozer Exhibition." However, due to the circumstances, it did not succeed. After this significant incident, the authorities became more willing to engage, and in 1975, they allowed the "nonconformist" artists to open their own studio workshop. This was a time of flourishing artistic underground, giving rise to new movements such as abstract expressionism, kinetic art, and conceptualism.

Overall, the 1970s were characterized by the absence of a unified style and rigid canons, wh ere the understanding of figurative and expressive means differed fr om that of the artists of previous years. It was a time when even "official" artists began working in their own individual painting styles. The art of this period can be characterized as poly-stylistic. However, by the 1980s, it no longer had such pronounced stylistic features and either continued the traditions of the previous decade or attempted to align with the international context of postmodernism. During this period, the "Society of Experimental Exhibitions" emerged, wh ere representatives of the informal circle of artists organized exhibitions, thus popularizing their own creativity, which at the time began to embody joy and celebration rather than reflecting a reevaluation of existence.

It is this type of art that becomes a symbol of youth culture, and this happened thanks to the leader of the group "New Artists" Timur Novikov.

The end of the 1980s was marked by the opening of the Iron Curtain and the beginning of great interest in avant-garde directions. The world-famous auction house Sotheby's started selling works by underground masters for high rewards.

Today, the works of nonconformist artists are represented in major renowned museums such as the Tretyakov Gallery, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Russian Museum, as well as the MoMA and Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, and others.

The exhibition of the gallery presents works by artists such as Alexander Shenderov, Viktor Arnautov, Dmitry Shagin, Alexey Yeromin, Ivan Sotnikov, Gleb Werner, Vadim Ovchinnikov, Anatoly Smirnov, and Fyodor Kanguin, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the extensive history of the evolution of 20th-century painting.