At Moscow's Kovcheg Exhibition Hall, art is for art's sake.


Amid the increasing numbers of commercial galleries and exhibition halls whose perspective is the bottom line, the Kovcheg emphasizes that it is not a commercial gallery and that the works exhibited are strictly for show -- not for sale.


The gallery is currently featuring two very distinct exhibitions. In the "white room" are 26 linoleum prints by the well-known Russian neoprimitivist Alexander Shevchenko, who died in 1948.


A pioneer in Russian art in the first decades of the century, Shevchenko was also a member of the World of Art Movement that included such masters as Benois and Bakst. He was also co-founder of a group called "Donkey's Tail." Formed in 1919, the Donkey's Tail looked to national artistic traditions such as Russian icons and Russian folk art for inspiration. The typically Soviet theme of labor also appeared in his works after the revolution.


But Shevchenko looked even beyond national and regional forms of art for inspiration. The multi-layered effects of his work led to his reputation as a "tectonic primitivist," his style echoing precursors of cubism like Cezanne, as well as Picasso and Derain. Shevchenko left an oeuvre that included monumentally-composed landscapes, still-life and genre paintings.


On view at the Kovcheg gallery are linoleum prints done between 1919 and 1930. They are finely-cut representations of figures such as soldiers at rest or workers at heavy labor. Shevchenko's appreciation of women is manifest in his detailed portrayals of women, often shown at work.


The prints are taken from the collection of Tatyana Alexandrovna Shevchenko, 82, Alexander Shev-chenko's daughter and an established artist in her own right. Tatyana's works are included in an exhibit in the gallery's "gray room" as one of the gallery's monthly companion exhibits featuring artists under its auspices.


Founded as an "art club" in 1988, the Kovcheg gallery, which is municipally funded, sought to attract artists of all ages from all levels of popularity. Along with showing month-long exhibitions of Russian artists, both living and deceased, in the white room, the gallery was also intended to provide a forum for artists to meet, discuss ideas and trends in modern art and familiarize each other with their work by bringing one or two of their most recent representative pieces.


Art critic and curator at the Kovcheg hall, Dmitry Alexeyevich Smolev, described the club as a "creative laboratory."


"We try to include established artists and artists who are just starting out," said Smolev. "We are very selective, but we are not elitists."


Admission to the club of about 50 Russian artists is based on the recommendation of current members.


"We not only want to show the public the works of contemporary artists" Smolev said, "but we want the artists to have a chance to see one another's work."


Smolev, stressing that the works are not for sale, said that Kovcheg does encourage interested viewers to become more acquainted with the work of any individual artist.


If the viewer wishes to buy, then all the profits would go directly to the artist. "We are very glad to show people more work. We also invite anybody who is interested to visit artists in their studios," said Smolev. "But we are not interested in making any kind of commercial profit."


The current exhibit in the gray hall also includes the most recent works of 38 of the club members. The works include abstract and representational canvases that provide a representative cross-section of present-day Russian art. Alongside lesser known artists, well-known figures such as Tatyana Shevchenko and Yelena Kolat are included in the show with two canvases each.





The Kovcheg Exhibition Hall is located on Ulitsa Nemchinova 12, Metro Timiryazevskaya, Trolleybus 47, 56, 78, to Gostinitsa Molodyozhnaya. It is open from 12 P.M. to 7 P.M. daily except for Mondays and Tuesdays. The Shevchenko exhibit runs until Feb. 5. Tel: 977-0044