_______________________________________________________________

HERBARIUM emerged in a strange time — at the turn of the millennium, at the beginning of the infamous "zero years" caught up in a huge bubble, leaving behind nothing historically held. 2000's began to talk about the end of postmodernism, and ended in a situation where we can only say that the art culture came to the point of zero, entered the stage of the Void.

Fine art as the creation of images is currently not an objectively necessary value of its public, its social functions are successfully performed by the kitsch, design and photography. Thus, it has become absolutely elitist, that perhaps would benefit.

Russian art now — a pathetic tracing from the West: exit from its historical context, it has gained nothing, only lost. Russian art culture in its heyday — including in the 1910-1920-s — was notable for its search deep, often spiritual ideas, which largely dictated the bold decisions in the field of the form. Must return to that tradition.

Our creative position is the opposite of three leading trends in art today. Traditionalists look to the past, proponents of modernism — in the future, adepts of "actual" art — in the present. We choose instead of a linear art-time dimension of its opposite — the vertical, through which time appears as a constant, and the world is perceived as a hierarchy of images.

At the heart of our project — an art study of mythological origins of the world, discovery and archiving facilities aura of reality. All works created in accordance with such intention, likened exhibits of herbarium: they carefully preserve the form of time and getting away from the eyes of everyman image parallel lives with her anthropology, zoology, botany, and metaphysics.

Our project — not just the union, and developing in time a complex, artistic image, comes to life whenever we choose for him a new theme, a new path. To the world of contemporary art, we are positioning ourselves as supporters of the White Movement in relation to the surrounding community. Our goals are fine, but we clearly understand how much for a contemporary audience they are irrelevant, untimely and archaic.

Despite everything, we will surely follow our strategy to return to the contemporary Russian art the category of beauty, giving it the quality of inner fulfillment. Each of our new project will confirm the loyalty of our chosen path.

Viva HERBARIUM!

Andrey Alioshin, Alexander Kotlomanov