Lollipops

"Lollipops" is Eldar Ganeev's first solo exhibition at the Winter Gallery. However, the artist is not a guest at the KCCA. Eldar Ganeev actively and consistently promotes ideas of artistic solidarity in general and, in particular, sets a precedent for horizontal interaction between community members through his own example. The artist created and develops the self-organized educational platform UNOVIS 2.0 and continues his active artistic work in the field of contemporary art. The need to share knowledge and practical experience has been present in the artist since the time when Eldar Ganeev, together with members of the ZIP art group, founded the Institute of Contemporary Art in Krasnodar. Eldar Ganeev's preferred medium is installation. He experimentally explores all conceivable forms of this universal language, constantly posing theoretical questions and confirming them with practice. With the exhibition "Lollipops," Eldar explores several theoretical issues. The conceived installation can exist fully formed in subzero temperatures. Furthermore, the artist combines installation and public art—related but distinct media—in a single exhibition. At the gallery, the artist is exhibiting an installation of paintings created using melting ice and water-soluble paints—a mystery in which the artist, rather than an active operator, becomes an observer, creating a connection with the viewer. The simplicity of the experiment heightens the impact of the viewer. The streaks and streaks of colored water create canvases of incredible beauty, to which the artist has applied all his experience and experimental spirit. Stepping outside the Winter Gallery, we discover a series of objects that form a unique path for the viewer to reflect on the beauty and diversity of art forms, and, of course, to try to answer the rhetorical question: "What did the artist mean?" The artist prefers to avoid direct answers to such questions, as the artist's comments capture her interpretation, reducing the viewer's living process of engaging with their own metaphors and meanings. By asking the exhibition's author a direct question, you risk receiving an honest answer, because Eldar Ganeev, being a well-mannered man, will answer you. You must know that his answer is merely politeness. Have you ever noticed the beauty of a lollipop? The more you suck on it, the more beautiful it becomes, and when combined with flavor, its beauty only intensifies. This lollipop effect is apparently demonstrated to us by the renowned luminary of contemporary art, Eldar Ganeev. Exhibition curator Sergei Katran

Published on Feb. 21, 2026