The AZ Museum opened the exhibition “the Costakis Choice”. The role of the collector in preserving the masterpieces of Russian art is well known, but the proposed Museum context, his personality becomes a prominent object. At the exhibition, observing the rules of social distance, was visited by Andrey Plahov.”I made my collection” — these words of George Costakis is best to talk about the nature of the psychological phenomenon that some call a selfless, other — delusions; both are true. Born in Russia the son of a Greek merchant, he was not initiated into the mysteries of creativity and had neither the special knowledge nor crazy money. But when I saw the “Green strip” Olga Rozanova, was mesmerized by the magic of the Russian avant-garde. From the old art Costakis collected icons, from the modern he was fascinated by artists-nonconformists — thus was formed the three parts of the collection.How formed is a collection of first-class works, could tell a film or TV series in the genre range from the detective to adventure novel. And this film presented at the exhibition — it’s called “the Gift of Kostaki” and is cleared by playwright Elena lobachevskaya with subtle humor and a tragic note in the final. About the identity of the Costakis talk artists Anatoly Brusilovsky and Oleg Tselkov, art historian Tatiana Metaxa: each person has his own, far from the “iconic” view of the collector. Yes, the very tone of the movie is easy: for example, Lenin in a painting by Kliment Redko “Uprising” with the help of off-screen music begins to “dance” lezginka — the joy hidden in the guard of Stalin. And in the final man Costakis already escaped to Greece, recalls his journey to the GULAG, to help serving there term brother-goner. Would not have happened if not for the simple Russian woman who lent him a large sum of money stashed to help her husband-a prisoner. This scene is an illustration of the unfathomable paradox. Throughout history, the government is doing everything to harden people, to encourage them to hate the country and each other. But still there are people like this woman. Or how he Costakis, who collected the “useless” masterpieces and eventually forced the government to accept them as a gift.Intelligence agencies are squeezed too active Greek out of the country, was missing works from the collection, several times set fire to a summer residence in Bakovka and not Greek citizenship, no job in the Embassy could no longer protect him from it all. Deciding to leave, he understood that collection will have to split, but insisted that the most important work — “Portrait of Matiushin” by Kasimir Malevich, “Red square” by Vasily Kandinsky remained in Russia. With a phenomenal gift to distinguish the great from the good, he dedicated this gift of his harsh homeland.The plot of the exhibition is a bitter, white�� special reciprocity affair the latter with Russia. But if he loved, so loved. Loved his wife and family, guitar and Russian romances, the artist Popov, which they never saw, but were called otherwise as Lyuba. It’s for her work, he traveled to Zvenigorod, where the nephew of the artist they patched holes in the fence. Gradually Costakis, without a drop of Russian blood, was the embodiment of Russia for Stravinsky and Chagall, Edward Kennedy and Antonioni: they are all among the main areas of Moscow, visited his famous apartment on Vernadsky Prospekt.Although the quality of the collection, it was not inferior to the best museums, Costakis dreamed of a real Museum space. After his death dream was to be fulfilled. In the Tretyakov gallery, there was room Costakis. Thessaloniki has opened a Museum of contemporary art, 1277 works acquired for him the family Kostaki Greece. Finally, the daughter of the collector Aliki Costakis handed opened in Moscow Museum AZ more than 600 works by Anatoly Zverev — an artist, whom George Costakis appreciated.The exhibition was opened to mark the fifth anniversary of the Museum of AZ. The intent of the General Director, Natalia Opaleva, author, and curator, Polina lobachevskaya, art Director Gennady Blue, she needs to recreate a micro-model of the Museum, dreamed of Kostaki. This is done convincingly and emotionally. Some great icons from the Museum named after Rublev, a brilliant Florence Alexandra Exter, hypnotic portraits of Vladimir Yakovlev, Dmitry Krasnopevtsev still life — all the reference points of the collection, giving the space of imagination. Absolutely magical impression two media Plato Infante, dedicated to the Russian avant-garde and non-conformists. After all, the first hemisphere and the second — dimensional cubes with portraits of the artists of the sixties and motifs of their works. So the thread is being transferred from cubism and Suprematism to the days of the “second avant-garde” — alluding to the fact that the avant-garde there is only one, disguised in different times and different names.
