Exhibition of Sergei Bugaev “Afrika” (b. 1966), one of the most charismatic and multi-talented artists of the 1980s–1990s, is timed to coincide with his 60th birthday. Bugaev is a striking personality and a leading participant in various art movements during the turbulent period of Perestroika. He made a name for himself as an artist, becoming one of the leaders of the New Artists association, and as an actor, playing the lead role of “Bananan Boy” in the iconic film Assa (1987), and as a musician, playing drums in the legendary band Kino and performing with Sergei Kuryokhin's renowned Pop Mekhanika group. In addition, in 1986, together with Timur Novikov, he founded the Club of Friends of V. V. Mayakovsky – an association of informal artists of the new generation; Andy Warhol held the Club’s membership card.

A self-taught artist, Afrika has long established himself as an extraordinary person whose art is constantly transforming and echoes the experiments of Russian avant-garde artists in its search for innovative solutions.

The exhibition will showcase paintings, installations, objects, textile panels and archival photographs, allowing visitors not only to trace the artist's creative path for over forty years, but also to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Soviet and Russian artistic life in the last two decades of the 20th century. A special place in the exhibition will be given to the series of conceptual works Rebuses – combinations of signs and images applied onto the surface of copper plates – which are part of a long-standing theme in the artist's oeuvre, The Unconscious. 

The works from the Russian Museum, Museum of the 20–21 Century Art of St Petersburg and from the artist’s studio will be included in the exhibition.