Solo show at Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany

Jul 31­­­–Oct 2, 2016
Evgeny Chubarov – The Berlin Works
The works of Chubarov, presented in the exhibition in Hagen, can be divided into three categories: figurative compositions of the Soviet period; graphic works of the final years (2008–2012); and, the main attraction, monumental abstract pieces
of the Berlin period (1991–1996).
Chubarov's canvases of the Berlin period represent "non-relational art".
This means that the composition is randomly scattered across the canvas. This arbitrary composition eliminates the internal balance of colors, shapes, and strokes. Nothing is weighed in this limitless freedom. This is where Chubarov performs masterfully.
We are familiar with the principle of a composition scattered all over the canvas thanks to Jackson Pollock. But, while Pollock's paintings arose as a fragment of a larger context (his canvases were cut from a larger canvas lying on the floor), Chubarov always painted his works in a set scale, for example 3 x 2 meters. The artist turned to a specific format and worked within this format with all the freedom of the painting process. As far as we know, Chubarov's work was not done on the floor. He leaned his canvases against the wall or hung them up to paint on them. We also do not see him using splashing or dripping paint techniques, as Pollock preferred.

Tayfun Belgin
Born 1956 in Turkey. Study of art history, philosophy and history at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Dr. med. phil. Director of Osthaus Museum Hagen
Solo exhibition opening at Osthaus Museum Hagen
If a building becomes architecture, then it is art
Chubarov's paintings of Soviet period are characterized by strong, often aggressive, multi-figure compositions, with the exception of scenes of rural life that he only painted from time to time. Very often naked bodies can be found facing each other in multi-figure scenes in such a way that they seem to compete for the space on the canvas. These works are so imbued with the spirit of struggle that sometimes there is a sense of a heated conflict between the sexes. That said, this violent convergence is also marked by an erotic element. This environment is defined not only by nudity, but also by the aggressive and strong-willed poses of the figures. This, in the words of Hans Hofmann, is a good "push" and "pull" relationship: an action of force and its subsequent expression determine the mood of these paintings. All of this is a game of bodies that is similarly reflected in the ink works of the last period.

Untitled, 1980
Oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm
In Chubarov's final years, his works done in ink do not ask such questions.
He did not address specific characters, only anonymous figures involved in wild merrymaking. Such merrymaking is characterized not only by erotica, but also by blatant sexual acts. Chubarov accentuates individual body parts, both male and female, that are involved in sexual games. In these provocative paintings, we find primal forms of human life. Civilization is turned off. We are taken back to prehistoric times in a time machine, where we become observers in a world that never ceases to amaze. Do these pictures reflect the aspirations of the artist? In his final years, did he dream, like Picasso, of a turbulent world surrounded by a multitude of men and women? Are these love games, which always have an inherently violent nature, a reflection of our civilization? Do we not want to talk about this? Does it destroy our intimate world? In the final years of Picasso's work, there were more and more wild scenes. His series dedicated to artists and art models are the best evidence of his resistance to advancing infirmity. Chubarov's works in ink really get to the point. They demonstrate a rampage, a drama that overcomes the dominance of the world, in a way that may seem surrealistic. Nevertheless, we find a lot of truth in these works, when we try to pass them off as our own fantasies.