The airplane «Artist Timur Novikov»

When I acquired the first pieces for my collection of contemporary Russian art at the First Gallery in 1989, I couldn’t have imagined what it would lead to.

By 1991, I was already acquainted with most of the most significant artists of that era. These relationships allowed me not only to integrate into the country and play an important role in the development of culture and contemporary art, but also to organize exhibitions in Russia and Europe, as well as to execute daring—if not insane—projects.

One of the most eccentric was the project titled the S7 airline airplane in honor of artist Timur Novikov in 2008! This wasn’t exactly «curatorship,» but certainly «art management.»

On September 24, 2008, the 50th anniversary of the birth of the leading contemporary artist and founder of the «New Artists» movement, Timur Novikov (1958–2002), was observed. This date marked a major artistic project: a retrospective exhibition of Timur Novikov’s artwork opened at the State Hermitage Museum, and the S7 company named a new liner after the artist.

The S7 airplane «Artist Timur Novikov» differs from other airliners named after cultural figures because the name on it is not merely written. The inscription on the aircraft, «Artist Timur Novikov,» was executed using stencils found by the artist’s friend Sergei Shutov, incorporating two essential Novikov symbols—the sun and the airplane.

The promotion carried symbolic significance—thereby emphasizing the artist’s contribution to the development of the global art scene and highlighting the growing role of relevant art in Russia.

On September 24th, the S7 company and Pierre-Christian Brosche invited Russian and international journalists, art critics from leading national publications, and cultural figures to take a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg and back on the «Artist Timur Novikov.» The airplane passengers felt as if they were inside a work of art and involuntarily became «art tourists.»

Following the press conference and tour of the «Timur’s Space» exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum, I hosted a celebratory reception at the «Kempinski Moika 22» hotel. The tables, set up in the atrium, featured speeches by Vladik Mamyshev-Monro, Sergey Bugayev («Africa»), Sergey Shutov, Georgy Guryanov, and Olga Tobreluts. Few could have believed what was happening—in the late 1980s, the location of the hotel was one of the squats and centers of artistic life in Leningrad, where Novikov and his «gang» used to «spark.»

Arkady Ippolitov and Dmitry Ozerkov curated the exhibition «Timur’s Space» at the Hermitage. The project was dedicated to the anniversary of Timur Novikov, who maintained close ties with the Hermitage and was one of the initiators of creating the museum’s modern photography collection. Today, Timur Novikov’s works are held in major museums around the world, and numerous monographs and biographical books have been published about him.

At the initiative of one of Timur’s students, artist Olga Tobreluts, a memorial plaque was installed on the same day at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where Timur Novikov, who was already severely ill, used to spend time in a gazebo with his students.

Timur was an exceptional person. He was not only a star in St. Petersburg’s art scene but also a supporter of emerging artists. Some artists were literally «made» by Timur. From our first meeting in June 1990, we quickly became good friends. In 1992, my wife, Annushka, and I specifically traveled to St. Petersburg for his solo exhibition at the Russian Ethnographic Museum, which was a real sensation. Timur’s home housed an entire collection of old photographs taken by famous European photographers. Novikov particularly valued Gloden’s backdrop.

Conversing with Timur over tea was always a great pleasure. He loved to talk about art history and the problems of aesthetics. In early 1993, two major exhibitions of Timur Novikov were scheduled to take place in Düsseldorf (Kunsthalle) and Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum). A catalog was required, and Timur asked me for help. Annushka Broshe was the designer of the Timur Novikov catalog. The result was such an original publication that it could be considered a work of art in itself—a livre d’artiste. Most importantly, Timur loved the catalog…

Born in 1958 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Creator and leader of the Petersburg Neo-Academia movement. Member of the «Letopis» group, founder and member of the «New Artists» group, member of the music group «Popular Mechanics, ” organizer of the „New Composers“ group, founder and member of the New Academy of All Arts, founder and member of the New Academy of Fine Arts, and one of the founders of the first Museum of Contemporary Art in Petersburg at Pushkinskaya, 10 (jointly with the Museum of Nonconformist Art and the Institute of the History of Modern Art). Died in 2002 in St. Petersburg.