Nikita Chernoritsky. The Edge

Venue: MOSCOW MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, 25 PETROVKA STREET, FLOOR 1
July 1 — August 21, 2022

Nikita Chernoritsky. The Edge

Curated by: Polina Mogilina, Daria Kamyshnikova

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art and the Triumph Gallery present The Edge, an exhibition by Nikita Chernoritsky, dedicated to human boundary states and the exploration of the concept of external and internal boundaries and limits. The exhibition is part of the Young Lions, a joint program to support young art.

The Edge is a project by Nikita Chernoritsky, which continues the exhibition Method. Facets (2018) and represents the next step in the work with space perception. The artist’s paintings are made on a blank black background, and all depicted objects sharply protrude from it by bright local color spots, as if captured by a beam of light. In these works, one can notice features close to cinematic art, hyperrealism, and associations with the technique of contrasting Spanish painting of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At the same time all the figures depicted by the artist are depersonalized, deprived of individuality. They can be identified by their outlines, and the objects themselves are hidden behind draperies of fabric and glossy material. Here, finally, the theme of borderline state is revealed.

Familiar objects change their identity in the eyes of the viewer against the black background, associated with the «edge» that absorbs all existence, which is beyond time and place and is essentially void. A series of monochrome trees even more vividly reflects the metaphor of transition into another state, and the subjects of the works balance between nothingness and permanent presence. Pale, lifeless tree trunks, frozen in darkness, continue to live in spite of everything. The theme continues with a series of video works in which the characters, once again acting against a black background, put on masks, hiding their own identities. The static nature of the shots and the lack of context lead the viewer to doubt the reality of the existence of the objects, emphasizing the lifelessness of the characters in the video.

Nikita Chernoritsky specifically refuses titles for his works, pointing out the absence of an interpretation by the author. Everyone can find their own meaning in his works, relying only on personal experience, personal associative series and psycho-emotional state. At the same time it is the viewer who «pulls» the depicted objects from oblivion, bringing them to life, breaking the peace of the prevailing darkness. Being on the borderline between the real world and the metaphysical, space and images of Nikita Chernoritsky settle in the deepest depths of the subconscious, in which the artist plunges day after day in search of meanings and himself.

Nikita Chernoritsky (born in 1999, Moscow) is an artist, director and curator. Member of the artistic dynasty Chernoritsky/Sokolovs (KUKRYNIKSY). He is also the author of the project Wanderers. In 2017 Nikita graduated with honors from the Russian Academy of Fine Arts and is currently studying at the Surikov Moscow State Academy of Arts in the workshop of Aidan Salakhova. Since 2020, a member of the artists’ union (MOSKh, TSKhR). Since 2017 the artist has received a grant from the President of the Russian Federation, in 2018 he was awarded the gold medal of the Russian Academy of Arts, in 2020 — the bronze medal of the Russian Union of Artists ‘for contribution to the national art’.

In his projects, the artist explores borderline human states, focusing on the study of the spectrum of feelings and states. The use of different media, as well as work in the borderline genre of visual and theatrical art is a special feature and method of self-expression of the author.

Free Workshops School of Contemporary Art
The School of Contemporary Art Free Workshops is an educational platform of the Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art for young artists and curators. The School was founded in 1992 by a group of artists and art critics, including Alexander Ponomarev, Vladimir Kupriyanov, Vladimir Nasedkin, MSU professors Vera Dazhina and Valery Turchin. At the School, students have the opportunity to study with the best teachers, successful cultural figures, famous philosophers and contemporary art theorists. During their studies young artists and curators are immersed into the art world, participating in master classes, group exhibitions and festivals. Being a part of the Museum, Free Workshops offer students a unique opportunity to study theoretical and practical aspects of contemporary art, being in its epicenter. At all stages of the artist’s development, the Museum and the School provide significant support: participation in group exhibition projects (Workshops annual exhibitions of young art, group projects of young curators), the opportunity to organize the first personal exhibition (MMOMA Young Art Support Program).

About Triumph Gallery
Triumph Gallery was founded by Emelyan Zakharov and Dmitry Hankin in 2006. Today the gallery cooperates with major Russian and foreign artists.

The Triumph Gallery strives to bring in new voices and viewpoints to culture. The gallery presents contemporary art through a multi-format program including solo and group exhibitions, institutional projects, and research initiatives.

About the Young Lions program
The Young Lions is a contemporary art program by Triumph Gallery, which began in 2015. The program features artists who have already participated in large exhibitions and are familiar to the public, are winners and nominees of art awards. As part of Young Lions, the artists present their debut solo projects in the museum’s exhibition spaces and have the opportunity to take a fresh look at their works, placed in a different context.