A COLLECTION OF CHESS KOANS–2

Solo Exhibition | LUCH Gallery
16 August – 14 September 2025

In his work, Alexander Sokolov constantly turns to the theme of the game. The exhibition in the LUCH gallery is dedicated to the phenomenon of Anarchy Chess and continues a series of paintings and objects in which the author combines the motifs of traditional chess with the aesthetics of computer games and images of pop culture.

Anarchy Chess is one of the many variations of chess rules that appeared almost as a joke. One day, a Reddit user with the nickname Scurlocc suggested playing the game according to the following rules: each move is chosen based on the most popular comment, one move per day. It is not necessary to follow the rules of classic chess, so participants try to suggest the most absurd moves. His proposal was warmly received by the community, and the new rules were given the name Anarchy Chess.

The artist believes that this phenomenon includes all previous and future changes in the rules of chess and requires a new logic of thinking, closer to the Buddhist koan*. The goal of the game is to go beyond the predetermined options and move from a rational to a more intuitive point of view.

Following this idea, Alexander Sokolov presents the second collection of Anarchy Chess problems, where the problems are presented not as a book, but as canvases and objects. Their solution requires a special approach.

A series of paintings, video art and a multimedia installation of monitors, complementing the paintings with a third dimension, as well as an audio guide - a detailed author's story about the exhibition and each work - have been prepared for the exhibition.

*Koan is a riddle or short parable containing a problem that defies rational comprehension; in Zen Buddhism, it is one of the main training methods that helps to achieve enlightenment. The main goal of a koan is to transform the practitioner's consciousness in order to overcome the framework of discursive-logical thinking that comes from a dual perception of the world, and to gain an intuitive vision of reality that does not separate one's own "I" from the surrounding "non-I".

ABOUT THE ARTIST

ALEXANDER SOKOLOV explores games and their interfaces using the optics of contemporary art. Graduate of the Free Workshops of MMOMA and I. Bakshteyn Institute of Contemporary Art. Participant of the main programs of the Wroclaw Biennial of Media Art WRO, Paxos Biennale and Intercontinental Bienal. The artist's works have been exhibited at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Vadim Sidur Museum, the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, the Fabrika Center for Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Colombia, the CICA Museum, Wro Art Center, as well as during various festivals such as the Ars Electronica Festival, the CHEAP festival, Intervals, and NUR.