Kirill Khrusalev and his solo-show "Memento Vita" (Luba Express Revival)

 “[Khrustalev’s] clever play with garbage, with objects whose existence is almost predetermined for disposal, serves as one of the foundations for [his] work…. work [that] resurrects the spirit of Oberiu conceptualism, where the intersection-juxtaposition of one word-object with another strikes sparks of wit, revealing its pure essence. [He] works with whatever bits of everyday life are at hand, trinkets most trivial and miserable in their mediocrity: beer tabs, cigarettes, napkins, candy, coins, cups, stones, matches, drops of coffee on a piece of paper, exploded bits of balloon… In the ambitious, aphoristic titles assigned by the artist (this exhibition – “Momento vita” – being no exception), these things, or, more precisely, these already-no-longer-things, which have lost their former value and have become, from an everyday point of view, trash, are now imbued with new life and depth of a human dimension. In addition to the conceptual level, these works also operate within a formal understanding, as the objects can alternately be read as pure abstract forms."

(Critic Gleb Ershov an extract from his article 'Luda Express Revival- Or, the laboratory of Great Deeds')

Artist Kirill Khrustalev speaks about his project "Memento vita:" I haven't been to a cemetery for a long time, but I remember that I have never allowed myself to really enjoy the lovely "weeds." And even if I had - I wouldn't have been successful. To be happy to see a dandelion in the middle of a cemetery...is really difficult for anyone! But it is the place when you can easily find the first Spring flowers. An unbendable match under a mass of stones; a beer cork still clinging onto its bottleneck in spite of the fact that its sense of life has long ago been shattered into smithereens; a paper-clip trying to fly upwards in spite its structure; a last leaf trembling miserably - pinned to a tree-stump by a rusty nail, - all of them are alive, their lust for life as if whispering to us: memento vita."

Entrance to the gallery exhibition is free. 

The art gallery is open daily from 12:00 till 20:00, except during days when a new show is being installed. On 7th August the Art gallery will open at 18:00. The exhibition project is supported by Grolsch.