OLEG TISTOL / U.Be.Ka. Personal exhibition
24.04-30.05-2008

Personal exhibition of Oleg Tistol U.Be.Ka.
The newest and maybe the last "palms" of the author.

Kyiv, the 24th of April 2008, 18.00 - Collection Gallery presents the newest project of the leader of Ukrainian conceptualism Oleg Tistol. The project "U.Be.Ka." includes non-seen and maybe the last "palms" of well-known artist, not only pictorial but created with Italian wonder-marker.

Search server shows 2.610 references for the name "Oleg Tistol". Among them interviews, the names of the most famous galleries and collections, reference to the auction Philips de Pury whose owners recently bought 4 works of the "palm" series of the artist. That's why the first edition of this release before opening of the exhibition had the volume of 5 pages of eight-point type. But a lot doesn't mean essential, that's why we invited the artist Mykola Matsenko to conversation. Who can describe the artist better than the other artist and besides his old friend? That's how a couple of frank essays.

"Oleg Tistol - a revolutionary "
"...Tistol demonstrated his extraordinary character and independence from the young years. He organized an uprising in the hostel of the art school. There was a TV set in the foyer - black and white - and when something interesting was shown everybody gathered, brought banks and watched. But strictly till the 11 o'clock. Then lights-out. And one day either a film wasn't finished or a program continued ... Shortly speaking the TV was switched off. Oleg takes a volume of Lenin's works, the work "Marxism and Uprising", and strictly according to it organizes the uprising. First of all it's important to occupy the telegraph, bridges (bridges - staircases), telegraph - telephone of course. Then somebody's head was wrapped by a shirt (not to be recognized), and that man with a knife in his hand runs into the foyer and cuts the telephone wire. Then we close all the doors with a key and fill the locks with plaster. Freedom! Three stocks of the hostel are up the whole night - listen to music loudly, dance and so on. Scandal. Then naturally the informers told the "right" person about it, but that time it went alright. Tistol was fired of course. But he was fired with one order, and restored by another. Thanks to the director - Muzyka Olexandr Fedorovich. Maybe, already this uprising characterizes him. How old Oleg was...15, maybe 16..."

"Oleg Tistol - a strategist"
"...Tistol is a strategist - he tells about himself. He clearly understands where he's going, his ultimate aim. It means he knows his first and second step, he may not know the fifth, the seventh step. For now. But the most important is, that he knows the final destination point, that's why he's a great artist. There are a lot of professionals, craftsmen, but only few artists..."

"Oleg Tistol and Shevchenko"
"...In his childhood, looking at Shevchenko portrait, in "rushnyky", he dreamed to "hang" in every house like Shevchenko. He has big ambitions. He realizes the greatness of his personality. He understands that wide folk masses cannot estimate that.
Bu they will get it. And he will get it - his portrait in rushnyky. But if to be serious, he is very Ukrainian artist. He understands his personal responsibility for the destiny of this country, this folk, its culture. He is flesh of flesh of this country... "
You have the chance to get to know what Oleg Tistol himself thinks about the full of personal details commentaries and to see the series of his newest works on the opening of the exhibition in the gallery "Collection". By the way the opening of the exhibition will have a fresh taste of palm exotic, you can even hear the "heaven" music. The pictures of the palm series, created in the technique of oil art, are exclusively in the "Collection" and by Victor Pinchuk, who bought them for the exhibition "Reflection". The prices for big works of Tistol -up $ 12.000.

Press-review of the exhibition will begin at 18.00 in Collection Gallery at the address: vyl. Pankivska, 8. There is a catalogue published to the opening of the exhibition; the exhibition will last to the 30th of May.