Orel Art UK launched a brand new exhibition on July 8 showcasing forward thinking new works by a number of contemporary Russian artists that are resolutely positive, moving away from some more traditional melancholiness of previous generations of Russian art.  The exhibition is intended to instigate and celebrate “a new dawn for international contemporary art through various artistic metaphors” and asks the questions what is ‘good news’?, what is ‘good art’? via artists including Peter Belyi, Yuri Shabelnikov and Ivan Plusch.  One particularly intriguing exhibit by Yuri Shabelnikov, Frozen Camera, is described as: a seemingly ‘frozen’ replica of the old cinema cameras taken on 19th century expeditions to the North Pole – as a ‘found object’, it evokes nostalgia for broken dreams (many perished on these expeditions) but also points to a romantic appetite for life, the drive to explore new frontiers.

All sounds good right?  Well perhaps the most fascinating part of this exhibition comes in the form of the underground, Constructivist-inspired Russian artists Konstantin and Yuri Shamanov, ‘founders and leaders of the Chameleon art movement based out of Moscow’.  And the most fascinating thing about these two fine Russian artists is that they are in fact total frauds.  I had this exhibition on my viewing list as soon as I heard about it and was then gently amused to discover that ‘Constructivist-inspired Russian artists Konstantin and Yuri Shamanov’ were not in fact Smolensk-born twins with bad hair and moustaches but Brit Art duo Jake and Dinos Chapman in wigs.  Although this little art fraud was exposed in the Times on 26th July, the exhibition continues apace and the art is still well worth a visit if you can overlook the gap in the heritage of these two Russian pretenders.  There are the other works by genuine Russian artists to be taken in plus the fact that the Chapman’s pieces themselves are thankfully better put together and executed than their disguises.  Orel UK is also a brand new exhibition space which in itself makes it definitely worth a visit.  The exhibition continues until October and if you really want to get into the mood I would suggest also going in disguise as a faux Smolensk in a wig.