There are people who enjoy giving gifts and are good at it. Petr Suspitsin, Director of the Rare Book from Saint Petersburg publishing house is good enough for his visit to the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy to be a historical event.
One of the best Russian publishers and a seasoned professional, Suspitsin gave a talk to the museum team about his last project – The Thirty Six Stratagems essay, a canon of the ancient Chinese art of war. This book is fascinating in all respects: casing and fly leafs made of exquisite China silk, binding in French pebble leather, bronze binding plates featuring patina, embossing and gilding, calligraphy by Russian and Chinese top hands, and illustrations designed by some outstanding contemporary graphic artists in original printing techniques.
It turned that this rare book was an unusual gift to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the museum for its contribution to the development of contemporary calligraphy in Russia. As a matter of fact, this masterpiece was created by the calligraphers whose works can be found in the museum too: Luo Lei wrote the text in Chinese, while Denis and Natalia Lotarev completed their part in Russian. Therefore, the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy served as a place for the artists and the unique publishing house represented by Petr Suspitsin to unite and express creativity.
Shaburov and Suspitsin discussed their further joint creative plans and agreed to meet at the opening ceremony of the Great Russian and Chinese Calligraphy exhibition, which is designed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relationships between Russia and China, and scheduled for May 28-31 in the State Duma.
Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes.
(V. Lazursky)