Is it worth returning to the world of anti-human agitation and propaganda?
KONSTANTIN SHKURPELA, a convinced non-conformist in the visual arts of the Kyrgyz Republic. The themes of his works are Soviet artifacts in the post-Soviet period: objects, images, texts, slogans that have become brands and anti-brands, and simply obsessive word combinations.
The artist uses the collage method, on his works we see: everyday objects, tools, figurines, elements of visual agitation. Painting, graphics, objects, installations, design – all of this adds up to a kind of environment of Soviet culture.
Now, when many people have forgotten about the specific conditions of life in the USSR, the artist’s visual analysis reminds us: is it worth returning to the world of anti-human agitation and propaganda?
For 50 years of incessant creativity, KONSTANTIN SHKURPELA created a large-scale cycle. The author does not sell his works on principle, and exhibits partly at personal exhibitions, at national and international shows. But there has always been a desire to show all his work at once, at one exhibition. It did not make sense to make a conventional exhibition in typical museum halls. The works themselves required an individual approach.
KONSTANTIN SHKURPELA’S HALLS is something unexpected: the exposition is the untouched texture of an abandoned Soviet factory, with minimal repairs made only to comply with safety regulations. Such a non-standard environment is not suitable for every work. Unique works dictated the unique exposition.
For the first time in Kyrgyzstan, more than 400 works by one artist are exhibited. The halls are a mix of many large-scale cycles of the author – “Construction Still Lifes”, “Fish Therapy”, “Torso”, “False Musical Instruments of Soviet Life”, “Proletarians of All Countries Unite!” and many others, no less significant.
KONSTANTIN SHKURPELA was born in 1951 in the town of Karakol (Przhevalsk), Kyrgyzstan. In 1974 he graduated from the Faculty of Art and Graphic Arts of the Lenin Moscow Pedagogical Institute. He has been a member of the Union of Artists of the Kyrgyz Republic since 1988. He is one of the first private collectors of works of fine art in Kyrgyzstan. He has held more than 20 personal exhibition