The confrontation between formalist and politically motivated artists has recently become one of the sharpest confrontations in Russsian art. Works of emerging artists act out this aporia (with no likely way out) usually by presenting the conflict itself.

Newspapers in galleries, forms in social networks — such transformation and fusion of the two methodologies of art production, which were once considered incompatible, have rather become the norm for the art in early 2010s. The art generation who grew up with the Internet swap flaneuring for Net surfing just as easily as they shift from the heroic pathos of manifestos to chitchat in micro blogs. However, this has proved to be enough sometimes to give rise to a real movement towards a new form of political organization. Take as evidence the news that has spread quickly throughout the world media: a grateful Egyptian revolutionist has named his daughter after the world most popular social network, for it was indeed a platform for protestors to organize and coordinate their grassroots actions. Such is the name of the future — fantastic, ironic, virtual and already washed with blood.

Vladislav Kruchinsky’s project is titled like a chapter from an absurdist futurist novel. «Colour squares mentally enslave class enemy» sounds like the news on a giant ticker display somewhere in the cosmic space convulsed by revolutionary struggles.

The artist creates a fictional reality, which despite its artificial character seems to be even more real. What makes us believe the image is documentary? Its low quality and the traces of its medium.

Kruchinsky’s exhibition takes form of an extended in space layout of «Toxic Komsomolets» — an imaginary amply illustrated newspaper. The artist’s graphic works remind us of the most ‘down-to-earth’ genres such as political caricature and placard and take us back to the works by Honoré Daumier and Kukryniksy, Dan Perjovschi and Efren Alvarez.

The exhibition-newspaper focuses on injustices of the world economy, political absurdity of the present and the paradoxical status of Russian art scene. Kruchinsky’s satire offers a new look at both watered-down strictly formalist search and excessively down-to-earth politically-charged artistic trends.