I Love Zverev

The exhibition “I Love Zverev” marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Moscow artist.

This new exposition will present approximately 140 paintings and drawings by Anatoly Zverev. The majority of the artworks have never displayed before. The art director of the Museum Polina Lobachevskaya and the Archivist Natalia Volkova selected masterpieces from six private collections of Natalia Opaleva, Sergey Alexandrov, Mark Kurtser, Andrey Timokhin, David Goldfert and Igor Markin

The project includes a movie named after the exhibition. Dedicated to the artist, the film was made especially for the AZ Museum by director Elena Lobachevskaya.

Polina Lobachevskaya, the curator of the exhibition, writes: “Among the numerous collections of Zverev’s art, we selected six that, in our view, are particularly striking and significant. Our visitors will get acquainted with pieces from the collection of medical doctor Mark Kurtser and of the businessman Sergey Alexandrov. From the collection of the ART4 museum director Igor Markin we exhibit a phenomenal series of illustrations which young Zverev created for the St. Petersburg Tales by Nikolai Gogol. Markin acquired these pieces from the family of Alexander Rumnev, one of the earliest proponents of Zverev’s art. The collection of business David Goldfred, which is curated by Viktoria Stupina, reveals remarkable works from Zverev’s early artistic period. And, we will present specially selected highlights from the collections of the CEO of the AZ Museum Natalia Opaleva.

Collecting art is always a choice, which is defined by a person’s taste, knowledge, and intuition… Creating an exhibition like this one requires selecting from so many works, but how pleasant and joyous this process was for the art director together with  the CEO and the Museum Archivist to have the privilege to choose from these first class collections. 

Collecting art is a passionate — and occasionally even competitive hobby, but the 90th anniversary of Zverev’s birth made so many significant collectors of the artist generously and cheerfully contribute. These two words “I Love…” that one can hear so often in the exhibition film in the speech of collectors and connoisseurs speak volumes about the warm and magnificent spirit of Anatoly Zverev.

The exhibition “I Love Zverev” is the culmination of the art marathon marking the 90th anniversary of the artist. The other exhibtions in the series include: “Zverev and Checkers. Checkers party” (from November 2) at the Zverev Art Center, “May Night, or the Drowned Maiden” (from November 18) at the ART4 Museum and “Anatoly Zverev. Here Must Be a Forest” (November 24, 2021- December 30, 2022) at the Vellum Gallery. 

Authors of the project:
CEO of the AZ Museum — Natalia Opaleva
Author and curator of the project — Polina Lobachevskaya
Art director — Gennadiy Sinev