Exhibition curated by Andrey Shental
Series created by Nikolay Palazhchenko
Solo show Arseny Zhilyaeva “the Return” continues the large-scale anniversary exhibition series “Farewell eternal youth.” This project reinvents cultural history, seen through the eyes of a character, robot Robert Pasternak. The exhibition opens on December 20.

The artist created 13 new sculptures for this exhibition. The legend goes, all the works are made by imaginary character, AI Robert Pasternak. The robot “resurrects” spaceships, rockets, satellites and other celestial bodies. This is how Robert reflexes its origin. With time, sculptures move around the exhibition space, their position is chosen by artificial, not human mind.

Important part of the exhibition is a graphic timeline, some kind of a chronicle by the robot. It portrays evolution of art-science objects: landmarks, influences, development and succession. Robert compares itself to objects of culture, finding lineage that lead to AI. Understanding its own nature leaves the robot grieving about human qualities it lost.

It is not the first time the topic of art of the future appears during “Farewell To Eternal Youth” series. Their different visions of it gave Egor Koshelev (Palazzo Koshelev), Urban Fauna Lab (Лаборатория городской сауны), Миша Most (Эволюция 2.1), Recycle Group (Template of Life).

Andrey Shental, exhibition curator: The central character of the exhibition is Robert Pasternak, an imaginary subject, interplanetary techno-artistic mind occupied with self-reflection. Studying material human culture this robotic historian compares itself to surviving artefacts of past, trying to find his “lineage”, to construct its own image like a child. His memory is full of episodes of traumatic catastrophes. Longing for the humane, it resurrects, recreates lost spaceships, bringing those back to life. At the same time we see eternal return of aesthetic canon, usually understood as the ancient classics. This canon is featured in the exhibition as one of references.

Arseniy Zhilyaev, artist: “Return” is a massive undertaking for me. Not only it is my first sculptural show, but metafuturologic artist and curator here is an algorithm. “Return” is no manifesto, nor a set of predefined answers. On contrary. Me and my colleagues who helped me with this project faced many questions without answers during our work. And instead of some illusionary solution, we tried to maintain or even enforce them. I hope this would make this exhibition more open for a dialog with the viewer.


Arseniy Zhilyaev (b.1984, Voronezh) is artist and contemporary art theorist. He is interested in Soviet museology and aesthetics of Russian cosmism. Participated in 13 Lyon Biennale (2015), 8 Lublana Triennale (2016), 11 Quandju Biennale (2016) and 9 Liverpool Biennale (2016). His projects were exhibited in Centre Pompidou (Paris), de Appel (Amsterdam), HKW (Bernil). Edited and compiled “Avantgarde Museology” monograph (VAC Press, e-flux, University Of Minnesota Press). Winner of different Russian awards in contemporary art. Lives and works in Moscow and Venice.

Andrey Shental is art critic, curator and artist; lives in Moscow. Co-created video programme “Measures Of Strict Economy” (London, Madrid, Athens 2012), “Aesthetics And Its Discontent” and “New Cosmologies” series of public discussions (Philosophy Club, Winzavod, 2016-2018). Published essays, interviews and reviews in many Russian and international magazines, Flash Art magazine reporter.

Arseniy Zhilyaev “The Return”
20 December 2017 – 28 January 2018
WINZAVOD Center for Contemporary Art
4th Syromyatnichesky per, 1/8, Big Square
Tuesday — Sunday (closed on Monday), 12:00 — 20:00
Admission: 200rub. (full price), 100rub. (concession), 50rub (students).