Sergey Shekhovtsov is a sculptor, a phenomenon in Russian Contemporary Art. Having received a classical education in sculpture and monumental art, Shekhovtsov began to make sculpture from foam rubber and solid polyurethane. The artist turned away from the traditional stone and bronze, introducing Pop Art motifs and a fair amount of irony into this sphere of Art, which earned him recognition from critics, collectors and the museum community.

Therefore, the whole work encompasses far more than the object made by the artist. It spills out into the surrounding real or imaginary space, taking over part of the context. The founding fathers of the latest Art trends (for example, Ilya Kabakov) would often focus on how the object relates to the exhibition context. Even the term "expoart" was invented in Conceptualism. The Frenchman Philippe Cazal went further by limiting the range of the object's interactions with the exhibition space to its public opening.

Cazal's works included various vernissage elements – wineglasses, disposable plates and bottles of "Veuve Clicquot" left, as if accidentally, by the public that had attended. In Russia, there are usually buffets at such openings, but this is not why they are famous. The reason is that their hallmark is riots. It is namely such a symbolic event that is captured in Sergey Shekhovtsov's sculptural installation. The Gallery's space, where pieces of Modernist American Art copied by the artist are hung, has been incorporated into this work. The visitors, looking at these objects inside the Gallery, are also an important part of the sculptural installation.

Achieving this is helped by his chosen means of expression – sculpture, which usually tends to be monumental and, naturally, to raise the significance of the phenomenon shown, etching it into the national memory. Shekhovtsov has created a monument to the riot. Monuments to adverse events are not uncommon in our country. As a rule, it is a stela, a cross or a plaque. Shekhovtsov's installation brings a new iconographic element to this genre. Such is the social resonance of this artwork.

Its aesthetic aspects are of no less interest. Seen through the artist's eyes, the riot has associations with various types and forms of Art. Thus, the images and poses of the rioters evoke those seen in Socialist Realism – the figures in the works of Yevgeny Vuchetich, Semyon Kovner and Mikhail Anikushin. And the drips and splashes of paint remind one of Pollock's "action painting". The broken glass and upturned showcases refer to Radical Actionism. And, of course, Shekhovtsov has borrowed much from the installation genre, although it has been reinterpreted by the artist. Installations usually present a scene with its stage props left behind by the actors. The viewer, like an uninvited guest, looks at the objects, the marks of a recent presence, but he is not allowed to see the creator of the event. However, Shekhovtsov brings the dramatis personae, both the live ones and the figures, into his work, greatly enriching the relationship between the installation and reality. Usually the "atmosphere" of the installation merges smoothly with the context of everyday life and therefore it looks like "a part of reality". Shekhovtsov does not create trompe-l'oeil, does not camouflage his setting as reality. He integrates elements of everyday life into his composition, thereby turning a real vernissage into a living sculpture.