“The Shadow of the City” can be felt behind Kursky Station in the old industrial heartland.
Nikita Bestuzhev’s graphic art, currently on display at the Copenhagen Loft Club, looks at the lost and not yet lost industrial architecture of Moscow and other Russian cities.
Fittingly, Bestuzhev’s exhibition of industrial drawings takes place in the Arma factory complex. Arma, which has buildings dating back to 1865, was once the home to large gasholders that fed fuel to nearby parts of the city. The circular brick buildings now hold art galleries and offices as the owners try to turn the area into a Moscow Soho. Copenhagen is a newly opened club in the complex.
“When I was a child, I walked through the old factories, and I was charmed by the view of the gasholders. They seemed so intriguing to me. With my paintings, I wanted to show monumental industrial objects as they really are,” Bestuzhev said. “I tried to express how dramatic their fate is — that’s why the style is quite ‘cruel.’”
The works are of old factory buildings, water towers, huge chimneys and old brick walls, adding a romantic tinge to buildings that city planners often believe have passed their time. Bestuzhev uses a black Japanese marker, traditionally used in manga-style comics, but also relies on classical engraving principles.
One of his most memorable works is of Moscow’s Kauchuk factory, which was demolished starting in 2008. The 19th-century factory — famous for producing the inflatable Olympic mascot, Misha, used at the opening of the 1980 Olympic Games — was mourned by preservationists who said it could have been put to another use, like Arma has, instead of being demolished.
“I was there two months before it was destroyed,” Bestuzhev said, pointing out that the problem has spread beyond Moscow to other cities.
“To prevent the destruction process, it is necessary to change city planners’ minds. Their main aim is to make a quick profit. But using old buildings and keeping what we already have could bring many more benefits. What’s more, the city’s reputation will be different if we keep our monuments and not destroy them,” Bestuzhev said. He hopes that Arma will remain safe from the wrecking ball.
“It’s important for me that people who think the same way as I do might find support for their views in my works. Another idea was to make the audience see historical industrial objects as architectural monuments,” he said.
“The Shadow of the City” runs till Nov. 30. Copenhagen Loft Club, 5 Nizhny Susalny Pereulok, Bldg. 16. Metro Kurskaya. www.copenhagenclub.ru.
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