"Vo dudu Enver: strength of materials", a solo exhibition by Enver Bajkeev was opened in Erarta Museum on May 30
For three decades, from the late 1970s until the 2010s, Enver Bajkeev (1958–2011) was one of the brightest figures on St. Petersburg art stage: firstly, as a versatile artist of multiple media, secondly, as a curator of exhibitions, and, in general, as a culture hero and Kulturtrager. In the 90s Bajkeev founded an art-club "Institute of Contemporary Art" at "Brodyachaya Sobaka" art café, and headed a female art group "Jeff Koons Fan Club". His most high-profile project was The First St. Petersburg Biennale of Contemporary Art in 1990, supported by the Soviet Cultural Fund. The Biennale featured 208 artists.
Starting from 2005 Enver worked as a curator and a leading researcher in the new exhibition hall of City Museum of Sculpture. Throughout his life he was gradually transforming from an underground artist into a media person. The process of constant searching was for the artist much more important than just pragmatic exploitation of a once found style. He wrote: "I am not a slave of any style, it's like many different artists live in me (this is my author's concept), and each one articulates his own intentions < ... > A multimedia artist can't exploit only one style, method or technique, he should move from one metapsychological state to another and be present in the state of a constant inner search". Bajkeev perceived himself as an "unnumbered energy-color-musical device named 'Enver the artist'".
Despite the modest format of the exhibition, it will feature such large-scale paintings as "Gigantelya" (from "Giant pieces" series, 2x4 m), "Absinthe, or a Happening in a bistro" and "New-Deco walks on" (from "The Absorbable" series), as well as the art-objects, sculptures, installations and graphic work. This exposition inspired by neodadaist intentions recalls the recently lived, worked and resisted the materials artist.