Shadow Theater: Alexander Zbruev presents an exhibition of graphic works
"Thoughts aloud," a protective uniform or simply "scratches," as the leading actor of the Lenkom Mark Zakharova Theater, People's Artist of Russia Alexander Zbruev, calls his graphic works, are now on display in the audience foyer of his native theater. These drawings on A4 sheets, made casually with pencils and markers, turned out to be not an acting experiment, but a personal gesture — a memory for a two-year-old grandson, so that one day he could recognize his grandfather not from posters, but from a living, uneven line. Izvestia was among the first to visit the exhibition "Zbruev. A4" and looked at the artist without makeup and roles.
A4 sheet instead of a stage
The lobby of Mark Zakharov's Lenkom is unusually quiet. An hour before the start of the performance "Tout payé, or Everything is paid", the audience was lucky enough to get acquainted with another side of the People's Artist of Russia Alexander Zbruev — artistic.
The actor himself doesn't quite understand exactly how he started drawing, but he can't stop. He takes colored and plain pencils, markers, A4 sheets, because they are always at hand, and just draws.
There are 29 works on display. Some are made on white paper with colored pencils, while others are made on black, with a white lead. The format of the exhibition is intimate, almost intimate, but the inner scale is much wider than the sheet. Broken lines, shifted proportions, faces, as if assembled from different states at once.
In these images, one can guess the intonations of Art Nouveau, cubist fragmentation, surrealistic freedom of association, and echoes of Moscow conceptualism. Somewhere I think of Pablo Picasso with his bold deformation of form, somewhere - Salvador Dali with the feeling of a waking dream, somewhere Rene Magritte appears. But these are not quotes or imitations — rather, a visual diary of a stage person accustomed to thinking in images.
Alexander Zbruev has rarely appeared in public lately, so every such case becomes an event for his fans. In early October 2025, it became known about the artist's hospitalization at the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine. Then the president of the Moscow State Lenkom Mark Zakharov Theater, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Mark Varshaver told TASS that Alexander Zbruev had complaints about the urological part.
"Scratches" for the grandson
The president of the theater, Mark Varshaver, called the event a personal event.
— Today is my holiday. Alexander Viktorovich presented his work, and I call it "thoughts aloud." This is not just a painting, but a reflection of his views, which are on display here today. And indeed, these drawings read like a monologue, only without words," Warshaver said.
Artistic director of the theater Vladimir Pankov, commenting on the exhibition, noted that Zbruev's "scratches" are a kind of protective form, but in fact an expression of the soul.
Zbruev himself is careful in his definitions. He sees humor in his works and admits that he doesn't know how they are perceived by others. Up to this point, Zbruev's exhibition experience was minimal — only one exhibition organized by Mark Zakharov at the Artists' Gallery before the New Year.
— During that exhibition, some artists came up to me and said kind words. They kind of mistook me for one of their own, but I'm not from their world at all. I am an artist and I always remain one," Zbruev said in a conversation with reporters.
The history of the current exhibition also sounds almost like a theatrical skit. The artist recalls how he once went into a painting store near the house on Malaya Bronnaya, holding his drawings in his hands, and asked the seller: "Can you say anything about these works?" The answer turned out to be simple and fateful: "Listen, you should make an exhibition." Later, an artist friend reacted much harsher: "You need to be treated. You're a complete schizophrenic!" Zbruev himself, of course, laughed, but did not stop drawing.
Only after forty minutes of continuous communication with journalists, the actor admitted that there was a much more serious mission behind his "scratches" — to leave the memory of his grandfather to his two-year-old grandson.
— I won't see him grow up, that's a fact. I don't treat it coquettishly. God help me. I would like him to see and read about what his grandfather is like," the People's Artist confessed.
When will Zbruev take the stage
At the same time, Zbruev is not going to leave the stage of life. On the contrary, he talks about a book of memories, repeats the text every day, and wants to stage a solo performance based on his own script. He announced this, taking advantage of the presence of Mark Varshaver and the artistic director of the theater, Vladimir Pankov. The text will be copyrighted, but the actor will include poems by Bulat Okudzhava, Boris Pasternak and Vladimir Vysotsky. It will take about two months to create the play.
When asked when the audience will see him on stage again, the actor answers evasively, but assures that he is ready to play at least tomorrow.
— I repeat the texts of all my performances every time. But the fastest way, as it seems to me, I will play in the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya in the play "One and One". Although I am also ready for the "Orchestra Rehearsal". This role suits me very well, and we are playing it in a double with Sasha Sirin, a wonderful actor," Zbruev told Izvestia.
The exhibition in the lobby of Lenkom is not an attempt to change his profession or an artist's statement about a new status. Rather, it is a continuation of the conversation that Alexander Zbruev has been having with the viewer all his life. It's just that now — not only with words and roles, but also with a line, a spot, an unexpected turn of form. And in this silence between performances, his "thoughts aloud" sound especially clear.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
