Beauty in Three Dimensions at the National Library
Three generations of Skobeevs: a singer of realism, a cosmist and an out-of-bounds designer
The National Library has an exhibition “Beauty in Three Dimensions” until February 14, combining the works of Valery, Vitaly and Alexander Skobeevs, the latter also acts as the curator of the project. Three representatives of different art schools, eras, traditions, and at the same time, are the closest relatives. Read the details in the material.
Lenin, Tukay, Tsoi
Grandfather — Valery Skobeev, born in 1938, People's Artist of the Tatar ASSR, winner of the Musa Jalil Komsomol Prize, who worked for many years in the Tatar Art Fund, author of portraits, historical paintings. Among the heroes of his works — Vladimir Lenin, Gabdulla Tukay, and Viktor Tsoi. Valery Skobeev is among the chroniclers of the construction of KAMAZ and the oil settlements of the republic. The artist passed away in 2022.
His son Vitaly was born in 1968 and in his work he mixed realism, modernism, expressionism, symbolism, although it is easier to define his work as “cosmism” — with an interest in mythology, biblical, oriental subjects.
Skobeev's grandson, Alexander, born in 1992, is known as Sasha Shardak. Like his ancestors, he graduated from the Feshinsky College, but later studied at the British Higher School of Design and at the courses at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. He also studied contemporary academic music, collaborated as a designer with publishing houses. After giving up painting, he is engaged in graphics, assemblage, collage, one of his latest projects is related to wooden sculptures.
“To pay my debt to my grandfather and support my father”
“The idea of such a project has been around for a long time," says Alexander Skobeev. “My father and grandfather had two joint anniversary exhibitions. The first was in '98, when my father was 30 and my grandfather was 60. And the second one, when my grandfather turned 80 and my father turned 50. And then they said: you have a grandson, he doesn't seem to be indifferent to this story. But I'm Sasha Shardak, I disavowed the fact that I'm Skobeev with my pseudonym.
During his work at the library, when Sasha Shardak was doing exhibitions here, he was often asked questions about the individual work. But in the end, the staff of the local history department suggested the idea of family history.
“I thought it was more valuable to pay back my grandfather and support my father," says Alexander, who, according to him, has positioned himself as an artist only since 2021 (“before that, I had various searches and torments”).
The exhibition opens with three samples of paintings from each representative of the Skobeevs, these works were shown back in 2018 at the Tsarskaya Tower Art Gallery at the Kazan Railway Station at the Moscow — Kazan — Moscow exhibition: paintings from 1976, 2018 and 2023. It became a kind of teaser for the current project.
In fact, the younger Skobeev also became the curator of the exhibition.
“At the same time, I had to distance myself from that it was me, it was my relatives, because the work was comprehensive, complex," the curator notes. “I had to review a lot of different material, highlight the work.”
The expositions of the representatives of the dynasty are divided into three sections, and each has its own “islands” in the centre of the hall. Besides, the library has provided books that help to understand the roots from where everyone's creativity grows: there are design catalogs, poetry, and philosophical treatises.
“My mother taught me”
“My father used to say to me: “Now no one needs art at all. Go towards something more necessary, modern," Alexander recalls. “That's why I've been doing graphic design for 10 years. And then I returned to Kazan and decided: why not do art, if that's what I want. So I went through the path of denial. At the same time, my mother taught me, not my grandfather and father. I went to the studio, to art school, studied with my mother. I had other people as teachers.
“My grandfather's favourite work is “Dispute”, it hangs next to my block," says Skobeev. “This is such a formalism, it's close to me, but my grandfather did not show this to anyone in 1976. And I see here a formalistic vision, in its own way a design one.”
Skobeev also exhibited paintings not only from state funds, but also, for example, graphic works that are stored in Valery Skobeev's apartment.
“I saved this glass from the kitchen door," Alexander points to personal belongings. “My grandfather decorated the apartment himself, painted it. There are also toys that my grandfather made for me in the 90s.
It should be noted that this is not the only family exhibition that opened in Kazan this autumn. Since October 16, the Gallery of Modern Art has been hosting the exhibition “Trail in the Trail. The dialogue of the generations of the Khadeev family” is about photographer and gallery owner Nail, curator Rosa and their children, photographer Timur and designer-illustrator Kamila.