The Soul Should Not Be a Commercial Outlet

"THE SOUL SHOULD NOT BE A COMMERCIAL OUTLET,"

— artist and poet Stanislav Goncharov

A descendant of icon painters from Sumy on his father's side and Smolensk peasants on his mother's side, Stanislav Goncharov was born on June 11, 1940, in Alchevsk (its modern name) in the Donbass region. He grew up in a family of well-known Soviet intellectuals of the first wave: his father, Kirill Gerasimovich, was a planner at the Donetsk-Yuryevsky Metallurgical Plant, and his mother, Alexandra Ivanovna, was a primary school teacher.

From his youth, beginning with his studies (1958-1963) at the Rostov Art School named after M.B. Grekov under his brilliant teachers—Timofey Fedorovich Teryaev, a student and follower of Martiros Sergeyevich Saryan, and German Pavlovich Mikhailov, who had educated himself on the works of Pavel Filonov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin—Goncharov inherited distinctive post-impressionist and Renaissance influences that marked his early and mature periods. He always drew extensively and engaged deeply with various graphic techniques, both miniature and large-format, "printed" and "original." Quite naturally, as a graphic artist, in 1975 he was triumphantly accepted into the Union of Artists on his first attempt, in the very first year after his family relocated (wife Tatyana Petrovna and daughter Oksana Stanislavovna, now art historians and keepers of the Muranovo Museum-Reserve collections) from their earlier places of residence and work to the holy Radonezh land, to Sergiev Posad in 1974.

Alas, to my personal wild regret, with the change of residence, Stanislav Kirillovich's creative orientations and priorities in painting also changed: he moved away from post-impressionist, avant-garde examples, from the influences of the art he had become acquainted with while still living in Stavropol, when in 1965 he visited Moscow as a guest of the legendary collector of Russian icon painting, avant-garde, and nonconformist art, George Costakis. But in return, Goncharov's life became immediately established: from 1974 (and now until the end), he was already an active and energetic painter in the Monumental Department of the Zagorsk Art Workshops, earning money, respected, and loved!

By the way, it turned out that monumental art (imagine?) is the most fragile; and with the change of regime, it was the first to go under the knife along with the demolition of Soviet-era buildings and structures that, as it turned out, were not architecturally valuable. What happened to Goncharov's monumental, commissioned creations is unknown/unclear. But the sketches, made with graphic materials, gouache on cardboard, are carefully preserved in the family, alive! Therefore, by choosing for the poster and invitation to this exhibition of Goncharov's graphics two of his 1980 sketches for a wall painting, suitable and having all the obvious decorative qualities to maintain the surface without deep breakthroughs into depth, which happens with other techniques, we are also preserving Goncharov's monumental heritage.

This is partly because Goncharov always drew so brilliantly and mastered graphic disciplines that when he applied to the Graphics Section (of the Zagorsk Department) of the Union of Artists of the USSR, which the Artist had dreamed of for a very long time, and from which his strict enemy-bosses in painting regularly diverted him, he was supported with recommendations by such luminaries who understood and knew graphics well as: Andrei Dmitrievich Goncharov, Dmitry Dmitrievich Zhilinsky, Gury Filippovich Zakharov and others. It should be noted that Goncharov not only maintained his connection with these masters throughout his further life but considered it guiding for himself, corresponding with senior mentors in art, meeting, regularly "showing himself" (as to personal doctors) with his "creative current face" by sending photos of his latest works. It is known that the local Posad artists were shocked when the titled, venerable academician-titan Zhilinsky himself came to support the already established Goncharov at the opening of his personal exhibition for his 55th birthday on February 8, 1996, in Sergiev Posad!

I know that there was also active correspondence between both Goncharovs, and 16 important letters from Andrei Dmitrievich to the younger Goncharov existed and were kept (although they have not yet been found). The younger Goncharov accompanied his "namesake" on his "last journey" (this is how he first addressed him in a letter: "Greetings, namesake!" — and the senior "namesake," despite the clearly impertinent familiarity of the younger one [which was known to be characteristic of Goncharov], replied, although such was not at all in his spirit, norms, sympathies, as an experienced mentor of youth, teacher, professor, head of department, and chairman of juries of many important competitions...). Stanislav made an amazingly tragic sketch (which should go down in history) from life of Andrei Dmitrievich in his coffin, displayed for farewell on June 8, 1979, in the halls of the USSR Academy of Arts. It is evident: he wept hotly and bitterly while drawing, but still laid blue strokes on the watercolor's pale floods, suffering through it...?

Goncharov was a serious, faithful, and deep friend to those whom he considered as such for himself. There are many examples: the famous nonconformist Evgeny Chubarov, who burned out in the West in gallery contract life with the successful art dealer Harry Tazintsyan and returned to his homeland in Radonezh in the 90s, is another example of such human relationships in art. He didn't manage to reach the planned acquaintance with Viktor Popkov; and Goncharov could not come to his senses for 40 (traditional) days after the wild shooting of Popkov in public (accidentally?) by cash collectors (one drunk) on Tverskaya... But with Oleg Tselkov, who had become a hardened Parisian, Goncharov parted somehow quietly, without explanations, even epistolary ones, turning away himself, not answering Tselkov...

However, immediately upon transferring to the Painting Section, during his lifetime, Goncharov did not exhibit graphics and did not consider himself a graphic artist in the first place. We are now grateful for this position, since, thanks to it, the entire body of sheets has been preserved. So, does the opening exhibition of Goncharov's graphics restore justice, including to the author himself?

Goncharov's legacy is truly vast: monumental and applied art, furniture, sculpture, thousands of paintings, tons and warehouses, boxes and deposits of poems, prose, diaries, philosophy, letters, drama, collages and mixed genres, sheets of conditional graphics, of course. Among all this, as graphics, I would highlight, besides sketches, notes, drafts, what is called "in the margins," of course, sheets of "original" and "printed" graphics, usually A4 format (rather, for convenience from the state-produced cut for the quick hand of the creator, unable to wait long...), created, truly, with all imaginable colorants and objects, instruments and devices that give strokes, spots, traces (pencils, pastels, watercolors, gouaches, temperas, pens, pastes, pigments, varnishes, glues, earth, ash, other, any garbage, in the end...), a block of author's, usually b/w photos of his own works (at the last glance and attempt to sort, I counted about 150 of them), to this block of graphics I would add all photocopies with 'self-photos', since the Artist used them, printed in different tonal tensions, in collages; and, naturally, the numerous collages themselves (which included much that is not listed, clippings, reproductions, newspaper and magazine materials, collected and prepared by the artist, both for study and—it is thought, believed—for collaging into graphics and painting, into the rest...), the total number of graphic heritage (not counting the long-unviewed early educational and pre-educational, childhood things) will fit, it seems, in 1000 (naturally, the figure is extremely approximate, and the graphics require the close attention of specialists)!

Taking into account the pragmatic attitude of that mature, "Posad" (1974-2003) Goncharov to his graphics, it is worth noting that the entire body of Goncharov's graphics from the main working period was done in a convenient standard A4 format and represents compositional, coloristic, stylistic searches for painting works, and only secondarily—other, proper graphics, as such. But this, in its own way, is beautiful: before us lies the entire course of Goncharov's world-feeling and pre-experiment on canvases, cardboards, chipboards, boards, hardboards, metal. Now guess for yourself that it is precisely this block of sketches—let's finally call them by their proper name: "sketches"—that reveals to zero, completely refuting the idea of Goncharov as an improviser: we see, practically, in hundreds, the analytical, scrupulous work on all possible nuances of composition, tonal and coloristic solution of the work. Besides, many works are no longer in sight, but such work, sketching, on them is now with us—thanks to chance and fate!

Undoubtedly, Goncharov was lucky in all senses: with his parental and own family (he bathed in tenderness, prosperity, understanding, love, in the end!), with friends, colleagues, museums, in exhibition and intimate artistic practice—during his lifetime. And not only: he married well and raised a wonderful daughter—by their will and labors his legacy is carefully preserved, described, restored, shown, placed in the reliable hands of museums and worthy collectors, and comes out again to the platforms of the best metropolitan galleries...

Goncharov is not just lucky, but suffered for his own, just listen? — here contemporaries speak about Goncharov.

"Inimitably learn to win, and, without resting your hands, while youth is with you, burn with your heart for the good of the Fatherland <like Stanislav Goncharov>." Nikolai Kuts, artist, closest associate and friend to Goncharov.

"He created in the most ancient material of Russia—'from the clay of bread and sky,' tearing his heart." Viktor Solovyov, art historian, expert and author of articles on Goncharov's work, collector and artist.

"Unique! Unexpected! Unprecedented! By this criterion, S.K. Goncharov takes the highest bar. Immediately recognizable, he breaks out of the general row—challenges any averaging." Yuri Linnik, cosmic philosopher, museum worker, prose writer and poet, culturologist, author of articles about Goncharov's art and poems based on his paintings.

"Dear Stanislav! Congratulations from the bottom of my heart. I liked both the early ones—the 60s ("Masks and Candles"), and the 70s ("In Memory of Lorca"), and the last big ones ("Requiem" and others), and all the "Garbageology." One thing is clear: an artist has emerged. With greetings—D. Sarabyanov. June 16, 1990." Dmitry Sarabyanov, leading researcher, expert on Russian avant-garde.

I was fortunate from 2015, under the guidance of the wonderful art historian, extremely competent, without exaggeration heroic (due to the wild volume and diversity created by the Author) faithful keeper of Goncharov's incredible collection, also diverse in composition, his wife, Tatyana Petrovna Goncharova, to restore Goncharov in Danilovo, near the Muranovo museum-reserve, in his House-workshop, where by our joint efforts his memorial museum corners and rooms were created, by her trust—to be a researcher, exhibitor and lecturer, speaker, author of articles and popularizer of Stanislav Kirillovich's work, to become the initiator of the first documentary film about the Artist, to look into his archives and compile the first monograph of Goncharov, by my feet and hands Goncharov came to the legendary Moscow "Gallery on Chistye Prudy" to Valery Pavlovich Novikov, star of stars...

The beautiful exhibition of graphics by Stanislav Kirillovich Goncharov that is opening now was completely prepared and designed by the Artist's daughter, Oksana Stanislavovna, not just and not only a museum worker-employee of Muranovo, but a musician and artist, exhibiting with her father and taking the labors over his legacy from older hands to her own shoulders!

The Gallery began exhibiting Goncharov cautiously, first with a small graphic group of only 15 attributed, cataloged sheets, then adding painting; by autumn 2022, Goncharov's personal exhibition of selected works already occupied all three floors of the exhibition space of the Business Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. At the opening of Goncharov's final personal exhibition "I was devoted to the road that led me": from Van Gogh to Rublev / 40 years of creative path," the following events took place: the presentation of the first edition of the first monograph/anthology of Stanislav Goncharov "Inimitably learn to win" (compiled by restorer Artem Kirakosov), the premiere of the lyrical-documentary film "I am already writing light—directly..." (director—composer Svyatoslav Ovodov), Round Table "I go into the night to shine and sing" ("House of A.F. Losev," moderator—philosopher Viktor Troitsky),—and the exhibition closed a month later with the presentation of the second edition of the monograph/anthology. Goncharov's works replenished the best Moscow collections: Mikhail Alshibaya, Tatyana Alekseeva and Anatoly Gostev, "Marchand Gallery," Valery Novikov and others. Permanent exhibition of Goncharov continued further, expositions changed, but much attention was undoubtedly paid to the Artist's graphics. In addition to the final exhibition for the 20th anniversary of the Gallery and Journal in May 2024, Goncharov's works were presented and took a worthy place at the exhibition "Poetry of Muranovo Landscapes" in 2023. The Gallery did not tire of presenting, advertising, popularizing the Artist all the time and between significant exhibitions, taking care of his works to the best of its ability, framing them, restoring, publishing, and commenting.

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