The artist collective "Rikitiki" started thinking about the theme of this exhibition a year ago: epochal shifts and future changes. We couldn't immediately elucidate this rather difficult topic; but now, after a year, we are in a position to reap the fruit of ten artists' reflections.
The Age of Aquarius will replace the Age of Pisces. Mankind is changing, and the world is changing. Old symbols are being enriched by new meanings. The beginning of each new century is infused with the expectation of of something new, and when the beginning of a century coincides with the onset of a new age, this prospect looms even larger. Whereas the average person cannot yet discern the contours of this new world in the fog of the future, artists are already trying to foresee and give form to the image of what is coming. The creative artist thus acts as a medium between the viewer and the space-time continuum which he is attempting to portray on canvas.
It will be interesting for the viewer to compare the work of artists from different generations. Most of the pieces which make up the exhibition are the work of younger artists, but there are also some works by the inspirational organizer and founder of the artist collective- the master and experienced teacher Alexey Malik.
The artist collective "Rikitiki" was founded several years ago. Alexey Malik, a teacher in the Art and Graphics department of Odessa Pedagogical University, got together with a group of his students with the aim of furthering the exploration and progress of contemporary positive art. The childlike quality of the group's name, according to its members, hints at the playful, searching, unfettered spirit which pervades their creative work. They do not favour established forms, but rather creative experiment; and the quest embodied by their work is not intended to provoke shock in the viewer, but rather to establish a positive link with the person on the other side of the picture, to be of current interest without destruction. Such are the goals of the members of the artist collective "Rikitiki".
The art collective, according to Aleksey Malik, is an open group, and membership is accessible to anyone who shares the views it espouses.
All are invited to appraise and appreciate "New Day".