The Synthesis Group was formed in 1975 by Natalia Khvostenkova (1952), who studied at the Moscow Institute of Technology,
Nikolai Vostrikov (1949), and Sergei Podrez (1949), both of whom studied at the former Stroganov Institute.
The name of the group is itself a manifesto. The group regards art as a unified process incapable of being separated
into forms and genres. The artists belonging to the group worked in painting, photography, cinematography, video,
and performance art. Self-Portrayal, the film made by the group and ultimately confiscated by the KGB, develops
ideas of Postmodernist simultaneity.
In the mid-1970s the KGB persecution forced the group to transfer its activity into private apartments. Since the
mid-1980s the group has participated in the international exhibitions in France, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and
the United States. Currently the group is working in the field of computer technology and installation, creating
a series of online programs for the Internet.
The artists live and work in Moscow, Düsseldorf, and New York.