OVCHARENKO presents Egor Koshelev's personal exhibition "Reds and Blacks", summing up his intensive work over the past year.

The year 2025 was a time of decisive revision of artistic ideas and methods for the artist, most of which he spent in the regions. "I consciously decided to take a kind of coloristic austerity, temporarily abandoning a wide full—color palette in order to focus on images and the overall atmosphere," Koshelev notes. This creative search resulted in two major projects: "Gothic Empire" at the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum (curated by Sergey Khachaturov) and "Wheels of History" at the Ivanov Railway Station as part of the First Avant-Garde Factory Festival (curated by Kirill Svetlyakov).

The exhibition in Moscow combines two cycles that have become an independent chapter for the author. The name "Red and Black" contains not only the simplest color characteristics of the series, but also refers to the famous novel by Stendhal, introducing additional semantic overtones. The "red" paintings belong to the Ivanovo project, and the "black" paintings belong to the Nizhny Novgorod project. For Koshelev's figurative painting, such a rejection of color became a serious risk and an excellent school of self-discipline. He recalls that
Many key works of world painting, from rock paintings to Picasso's Guernica, are monochrome, and the current historical period, in his opinion, requires plastic rigor from the artist, which is effectively served by the grisaille technique. Viewers familiar with Koshelev's work will notice a change in intonation and a new range of plots. There is less irony and stylistic games in the presented works, the artist aspired to simplicity and seriousness.

The artist offers the audience an honest conversation about painting, its possibilities and boundaries, as well as what it means for an artist to talk about complex things in simple terms.

On December 9, at 19:00, an exclusive drop of new works by Egor Koshelev will take place on the VLADEY.Store online platform, providing an opportunity not only to see, but also to acquire a piece of his artistic
expression.

About the artist

Egor Koshelev is one of the most recognizable Russian artists and notable art theorists. After receiving his PhD in art history in 2006, he continues to teach at the Stroganov Moscow State Art Academy, from which he graduated. In his works, Egor Koshelev uses quotations from the history of art from the Renaissance and realism to street art and cinema. In the surreal world of the artist, mythological creatures get along with modern fashion and technology. Egor Koshelev is a Strabag Kunstforum Award winner (2012), his works are included in the collections of the Moscow State Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and the Tsaritsyno Museum.