page_title: Oleg Khvostov
section_title: The New stupid, 1998 – 2001
hierarchical_section_title: Oleg Khvostov / Biography / The New stupid, 1998 – 2001
caption_attribution_description: Урок анатомии. Бумага, акрил. 210х300 см. 2000
context_page_description: Oleg Khvostov is a Russian painter, representative of naïve art. Since 2001 he's a member of the Russian Union of Artists and the Free Culture society since 2004. Currently lives and works in Saint Petersburg.
context_section_description: They met in person a little later and in 1998 Khvostov joined "the New stupid" art group. "The New Stupid" followed the principles of an early futurism and Dadaism and favoured action art and performance art over painting, sculpture and installation art. Oleg participated in numerous art projects and continued to do painting, for his primitive artistic style was in accord with the ideas of this art group.
  The fame of "The New Stupid" gave the artist more prominence in the art community. Through "the New Stupid" Khvostov got acquainted with fine art experts Gleb Ershov and Andrei Klyukanov who at that moment worked in Navicula Artis gallery. In 1999 they organized his first solo exhibition "Self-portraits — 200+1", which consisted of only a part of the artist's series. In 2000 Khvostov shifted to the large format and started to use emulsion paint and paper. The New Stupid society leader, Vadim Flyagin, became his first model. Then there was a comic series "Curators’ portraits" representing notable art critics of Saint Petersburg and galleries’ staff. These works led to Khvorostov getting an order to paint a multi-figured portrait for the anniversary of the "Leningrad Art Critics Club", founded by Ivan Chechot. For this portrait the artist took as a basis the renowned painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt. He illustrated a figurative dead body as a "body of art" prosected by Chechot and his students.
  In 2001 Khvostov and "The New Stupid" parted ways. Oleg left the group in the rank of the ‘honorary member’ and focused on painting.
caption: The Anatomy lesson, paper, acryl, 2000
exif: {}