Sculpture

Nikolai Silis. The Palindrome Artist

Olga Gerasimova

Article: 
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST
Magazine issue: 
#1 2015 (46)

THE SCULPTOR NIKOLAI SILIS WAS BORN IN 1928 IN MOSCOW, IN THE GRAUERMAN MATERNITY HOSPITAL ON THE ARBAT: THE SILIS FAMILY LIVED NEARBY, IN A COMMUNAL FLAT ON GOGOLEVSKY BOULEVARD. HIS FATHER, ANDREI SILIS, WAS SHOT IN DECEMBER 1941, ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES, IN THE UKHTIZHEMLAG LABOUR CAMP. HIS MOTHER, YEKATERINA, MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVED THE BLOCKADE OF LENINGRAD, WHERE THE FAMILY HAD TO MOVE AFTER THE FATHER'S ARREST. YEKATERINA SUCCEEDED IN SENDING HER TWO SONS, THE OLDER RUFIM AND THE YOUNGER VADIM, AWAY TO RELATIVES LIVING NEAR THE TOWN OF KALININ.

Nikolai Silis. The Palindrome Artist

THE SCULPTOR NIKOLAI SILIS WAS BORN IN 1928 IN MOSCOW, IN THE GRAUERMAN MATERNITY HOSPITAL ON THE ARBAT: THE SILIS FAMILY LIVED NEARBY, IN A COMMUNAL FLAT ON GOGOLEVSKY BOULEVARD. HIS FATHER, ANDREI SILIS, WAS SHOT IN DECEMBER 1941, ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES, IN THE UKHTIZHEMLAG LABOUR CAMP. HIS MOTHER, YEKATERINA, MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVED THE BLOCKADE OF LENINGRAD, WHERE THE FAMILY HAD TO MOVE AFTER THE FATHER'S ARREST. YEKATERINA SUCCEEDED IN SENDING HER TWO SONS, THE OLDER RUFIM1 AND THE YOUNGER VADIM, AWAY TO RELATIVES LIVING NEAR THE TOWN OF KALININ.

The Unknown Golubkina: The Art of Cameo

Irina Kapranova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2012 (35)

The sculptor Anna Golubkina is an outstanding Russian artist of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although her work has always been the subject of scholarly study, there still remains much to learn. An unexplored but distinctive and unexpected phenomenon in Golubkina's art — she generally gravitated towards monumental forms of sculpture — is represented by her cameos, made from seashell and ivory. Initial efforts to estimate the total number of these miniatures, which were created over many years, and understand their significance in Golubkina's work, led to the conclusion that carving cameos was a modest "parallel" occupation which existed alongside her more renowned and innovative work in sculpture.

The Unknown Golubkina: The Art of Cameo

The sculptor Anna Golubkina is an outstanding Russian artist of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although her work has always been the subject of scholarly study, there still remains much to learn.

A Master of Major Forms. On the centenary of Alexander Kibalnikov's birth

Valeriya Minina

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2012 (36)

Alexander Kibalnikov's name occupies one of the most prominent and significant places in the brilliant cohort of Soviet artists. When we recall his works — monumental sculptures, portraits, memorial and monumental compositions — it becomes clear that Kibalnikov's art has a consistent creative direction. It is characterized by its loyalty to the principles of civic consciousness and humanity, high integrity, strong inherent bond to the fate of his native country and its people. It is among the people that the artist found subjects for his art, individuals of strong will and courage, resolute, beautiful and wholesome in their thoughts and aspirations — people who embody a certain social ideal.

A Master of Major Forms. On the centenary of Alexander Kibalnikov's birth

Alexander Kibalnikov's name occupies one of the most prominent and significant places in the brilliant cohort of Soviet artists. When we recall his works — monumental sculptures, portraits, memorial and monumental compositions — it becomes clear that Kibalnikov's art has a consistent creative direction. It is characterized by its loyalty to the principles of civic consciousness and humanity, high integrity, strong inherent bond to the fate of his native country and its people.

A Master Ahead of His Time

Alexander Rozhin

Article: 
ART AND PERSONALITY
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

ZURAB TSERETELI'S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD ART IS ENORMOUS. THE SCOPE OF HIS ARTISTIC PURSUITS IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING AND MANIFESTS ITSELF IN MONUMENTAL AND EASEL WORKS, DESIGN AND APPLIED ART. TO SAY "HE EXISTS IN ART" WOULD BE WRONG - ART LIVES THROUGH HIM, HIS SOUL, HIS THOUGHTS AND HIS LIFE. THE POET ILYA REZNIK GAVE AN ACCURATE, VIVID AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE MAESTRO'S CAREER IN ART, WHICH IS MARKED BY HIS FORMIDABLE TALENT AND INFINITE INDUSTRIOUSNESS: "IT WAS NOT THAT THE ARTIST CHOSE PAINTING - PAINTING CHOSE HIM." THIS POETIC EXPRESSION DESCRIBES AN ARTIST OF GREAT AND WIDE-RANGING GIFTS, TO WHOM, TO QUOTE ANOTHER POET, VALERY BRYUSOV, "ONLY WORK BRINGS HAPPINESS... LONG HOURS OF HARD WORK".

A Master Ahead of His Time

ZURAB TSERETELI'S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD ART IS ENORMOUS. THE SCOPE OF HIS ARTISTIC PURSUITS IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING AND MANIFESTS ITSELF IN MONUMENTAL AND EASEL WORKS, DESIGN AND APPLIED ART. TO SAY "HE EXISTS IN ART" WOULD BE WRONG - ART LIVES THROUGH HIM, HIS SOUL, HIS THOUGHTS AND HIS LIFE.

Anna Golubkina's Reliefs: Between Sculpture and Painting

Irina Kapranova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH ANNA GOLUBKINA'S RELIEFS AS WITH HER SCULPTURES. IN FACT, OUTSIDE SPECIALIST CIRCLES, THEIR EXISTENCE IS HARDLY KNOWN. HOWEVER, IT IS CLEAR THAT GOLUBKINA'S RELIEFS, SO DIVERSE IN TERMS OF THEIR SUBJECT MATTER AND STYLE, AS WELL AS THEIR ARTISTIC GOALS AND INNOVATIVE IMPLEMENTATION, OCCUPY AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN RUSSIAN CULTURE OF THE LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. MODERN SCULPTORS HAVE DRAWN ON AND EXPANDED ON GOLUBKINA'S DISCOVERIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN BUILDING RELIEFS WIDELY AND WITHOUT RESTRAINT. ARTISTS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THE CLASSICAL CANONS OF RELIEF SCULPTURE UNCONDITIONALLY AND PRECISELY. NEVERTHELESS, THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THIS RUSSIAN SCULPTOR, WHO LED THE WAY TOWARDS A NEW ART THAT WOULD BE FREE FROM RIGID ACADEMIC CLICHES, HAVE YET TO BE FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED.

Anna Golubkina's Reliefs

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH ANNA GOLUBKINA'S RELIEFS AS WITH HER SCULPTURES. IN FACT, OUTSIDE SPECIALIST CIRCLES, THEIR EXISTENCE IS HARDLY KNOWN.

Moscow and the Art of Anna Golubkina

Tatyana Galina

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

MOSCOW WAS THE SECOND HOME TOWN OF ANNA GOLUBKINA: SHE WAS BORN IN ZARAISK ON JANUARY 28 1864. GOLUBKINA BECAME A MUSCOVITE IN 1889, WHEN SHE ENROLLED AT THE FINE ARTS WORKSHOP OF THE ARCHITECT ANATOLY GUNST. LATER, IN 1891-1894, SHE STUDIED AT THE MOSCOW SCHOOL OF PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE. GOLUBKINA LIVED IN MOSCOW FOR A LONG TIME: ALTHOUGH SHE RETURNED TO ZARAISK MANY TIMES, AND MOVED TO ST. PETERSBURG TO STUDY, AND LIVED IN EUROPE FOR LONG PERIODS FOR THE SAME PURPOSE, SHE ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE HER HOME IN MOSCOW - TO HAVE A STUDIO IN THE CITY, AND TO PARTICIPATE IN ITS CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES.

Moscow and the Art of Anna Golubkina

MOSCOW WAS THE SECOND HOME TOWN OF ANNA GOLUBKINA: SHE WAS BORN IN ZARAISK ON JANUARY 28 1864. GOLUBKINA BECAME A MUSCOVITE IN 1889, WHEN SHE ENROLLED AT THE FINE ARTS WORKSHOP OF THE ARCHITECT ANATOLY GUNST. LATER, IN 1891-1894, SHE STUDIED AT THE MOSCOW SCHOOL OF PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE. GOLUBKINA LIVED IN MOSCOW FOR A LONG TIME: ALTHOUGH SHE RETURNED TO ZARAISK MANY TIMES, AND MOVED TO ST.

"Art is Arp"

Astrid von Asten

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. SWITZERLAND–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

"For Arp, art is Arp" - this proclamation made by Marcel Duchamp in 1949 arouses a curiosity to get to know Arp's understanding of art, presented at the exhibition in the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck*. There are many reasons to consider the painter, sculptor, and poet Hans (Jean) Arp (1886-1966) to be among the most influential artists of the 20th century. In Zurich in 1916, together with his artist colleagues Hugo Ball, Richard Huelsenbeck, and Tristan Tzara he founded Dada, a protest movement against war and human despotism. With mostly provocative, sometimes playfully-ironic artistic means of expression, the Dadaists tried to surmount existing social and aesthetic norms, and in doing so, revolutionized the art scene in only a short time. "Happenings" and "performances", significant forms of expression even in today's art, are directly rooted in Dadaism, and "concrete poetry" is wholly in the tradition of the poet Arp as well.

Art is Arp

"For Arp, art is Arp" - this proclamation made by Marcel Duchamp in 1949 arouses a curiosity to get to know Arp's understanding of art, presented at the exhibition in the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck*.

Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings

Irina Nikiforova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. SWITZERLAND–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

The exhibition 'Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings" is the latest in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts' series of large-scale international projects, which in themselves reflect much more than ideas brought about by the long examination of its own collections. The museum researchers' inquiring minds and painstaking efforts have always been aimed at projects illustrating different stages of arts history that fill in the gaps of the museum's existing displays. Such projects introducing Modernist artists and classics of 20th-century avant-garde art have included exhibitions devoted to Pablo Picasso (the first in Russia), Amedeo Modigliani, Raoul Dufy, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Piet Mondrian, and Andy Warhol. 40 years ago such shows were a veritable cultural shock, a bold display of a different art language against the background of the 'aestheti-cized mythology" of the totalitarian state.

Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings

The exhibition 'Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings" is the latest in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts' series of large-scale international projects, which in themselves reflect much more than ideas brought about by the long examination of its own collections. The museum researchers' inquiring minds and painstaking efforts have always been aimed at projects illustrating different stages of arts history that fill in the gaps of the museum's existing displays.

GUSTAV VIGELAND. THE MAN BEHIND THE VIGELAND PARK

Jarle Strømodden

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. NORWAY–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) is perhaps the best known Norwegian sculptor, a fame confirmed by the Vigeland Park in Oslo. This area, measuring about 340 acres and mainly designed and shaped by Vigeland, has more than 200 of his sculptures, and since its completion in the 1950s been very popular, both with locals and with tourists. Despite this, Vigeland has never made a particular impact on Norwegian sculpture - he is not like one of his famous contemporaries, the painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Vigeland had a modest upbringing, went through a struggling period as a student and in his early career, but ended up as an acclaimed sculptor.

GUSTAV VIGELAND. THE MAN BEHIND THE VIGELAND PARK

Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) is perhaps the best known Norwegian sculptor, a fame confirmed by the Vigeland Park in Oslo. This area, measuring about 340 acres and mainly designed and shaped by Vigeland, has more than 200 of his sculptures, and since its completion in the 1950s been very popular, both with locals and with tourists. Despite this, Vigeland has never made a particular impact on Norwegian sculpture - he is not like one of his famous contemporaries, the painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

The Forms of Florence

Jasper Rees

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
#4 2013 (41)

THE SCULPTED SPIRIT OF FLORENCE IS REDISCOVERED THROUGH ITS ANTIQUE ROOTS IN THE MAGISTERIAL EXHIBITION "THE SPRINGTIME OF THE RENAISSANCE. SCULPTURE AND THE ARTS IN FLORENCE 1400-60" AT THE CITY'S PALAZZO STROZZI. ORGANIZED JOINTLY WITH THE LOUVRE, IT MOVES TO PARIS AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, RUNNING THERE UNTIL EARLY 2014.

2013_4_art_01_th.jpg

THE SCULPTED SPIRIT OF FLORENCE IS REDISCOVERED THROUGH ITS ANTIQUE ROOTS IN THE MAGISTERIAL EXHIBITION "THE SPRINGTIME OF THE RENAISSANCE. SCULPTURE AND THE ARTS IN FLORENCE 1400-60" AT THE CITY'S PALAZZO STROZZI. ORGANIZED JOINTLY WITH THE LOUVRE, IT MOVES TO PARIS AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, RUNNING THERE UNTIL EARLY 2014.

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