France in the Works of Young Russian Artists: Exhibition in Honor of the Year of France in Russia

Tsereteli Art Gallery presents a show of about 200 paintings and graphic works by young painters that make an interesting lyric suite about France, thirst for creation, harmony and passion. It has been organized by the Russian Academy of Arts and V. Surikov Moscow State Academy Art Institute. France is a dream country, a country of mystery, country of surprise where souls of young artists long to get to in search of inspiration, subject-matter and beauty.

Vibrant and pulsating currents of the creative energy soaked by its air, the image and character of France’s beautiful capital, this versatile art center have been always magnetic for Russian artists. The topic of France and Paris has become for them extra-temporal as an ineradicable need of soul.

The exhibitors are five young painters already established themselves as recognized masters, who recently graduated from V. Surikov Moscow State Academy Art Institute where they majored in monumental painting under Evgeny Maximov. They are members of the Artists’ Union of Russia. The school gave them a lot. The artists can work in various techniques of monumental painting, paint within the framework of the canon, subordinate the brush for their own imagination. Some of them in various years took part in the wall paintings of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Now they constantly work as muralists, devote much time to easel painting, perfect their skills in creative workshops. They all have been honored with awards of the Russian Academy of Arts and other prizes. The artists are frequent exhibitors in numerous art shows. The topic of France for them is one of many, but a very innermost and loved one.

This exhibition can be called a small constellation of worlds (five exhibitors). Each artist in his unique way interprets the topic, visible space and forms drawing the viewer into a picturesque game, into the space of the author’s fiction and poetics. And the viewers enthusiastically travel in this colorful country amazed at the variety of options for reflection of the reality.

The sculptures by Aristide Maillol in le jardin des Tuileries have become main characters in works by Irina Skachkova. She has captured Paris in the time of travel lull, when the nature itself quiets down, the air is saturated with a moisture mist shrouding all living things, and the characters of her works are removed from the world and simultaneously merged with it. In her spiritual paintings from the series “Paris. Le Jardin des Tuileries”, like artists from the Blue Rose and Les Nabis group, she extremely generalizes forms trying to convey the feeling of mystery and magic. Intricate in colors and exquisite in composition are her Russian landscapes that are also displayed at the show.

Works by Nikita Makarov reveal a true lover of Paris, who has lived in it for quite a lot of time, strolled along thousands of streets, all the embankments, met not one sunset in this wonderful city. The artist strives to explore the whole world of Paris, to see every corner of it, to hear every sound and as a result – to penetrate into the city’s soul, to disclose and transfer it to the canvas. The pictorial style of Nikita Makarov is calm and noble. He follows the traditions of the artists of Les Nabis, World of Art groups combining in his landscapes as much healing power and beauty of color, texture as it can be given only by the nature itself in its best moments.

An absolutely different side of the French life is depicted in paintings and sketches of Daniel Chepic. His canvas “Place du Tertre” is dedicated to a mysterious and hidden life of this historic Paris square in Montmartre. In the picture there are images of hundreds of artists whose lives were connected with this place. An unexpected side of France is exposed in the artist’s works painted in Arles, an ancient city, a former residence of Constantine the Great in the 4th century AD, where Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin lived, and today bull fighting is held in the Arena of the Roman amphitheatre. A deep passion, natural thirst for fighting and riot of color are taken up by flamenco dancers. This show not leaving those who have seen it in peace for many years has become for the artist a source of new sensations, which he strives to realize on canvas and to share with viewers.




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