Personal exhibition of the artist Yuri Vakulenko “Dotiki. The Kyiv gallery “Triptych ART” hosted an exhibition by Yuri Vakulenko “Infanta Awards and Recognition

On May 21, the Soviart gallery opens a personal exhibition of artist Yuri Vakulenko “Dotiki”. It presents three of the artist’s projects – “Dotiki”, “Vibration Quadrum” and “Colored Cities”.

The “Dotiki” project is a series of touch works in which the artist conducts a direct tactile dialogue with the canvas. Like a child who begins to discover reality by touch and impulsively touches everything that interests him, the artist first comes into contact with the world of the image empirically - by touching the surface of the canvas with his hand. He feels, tactilely “tests” the working surface of the canvas with his palm, leaving a colored imprint of his hand on it and receiving from this contact a first impression, a fresh creative impulse. Then the painter picks up a brush to saturate it with semantic and colorful nuances and give the print figurative completeness. As a result, “Dotiki” turn into openwork woven compositions with intricate loops, arcs, curls, reminiscent of patterns and lines on human palms.

Four large canvases with multiple handprints of the master - white on white, blue on blue, red on red and black on black - are the central rhythm-forming part of the entire project. Around this center, miniatures of various moods, colors, textures and sizes are chaotically located. It is interesting that some of these works are written on printed prints, for example on invitations to art exhibitions. The artist seems to be “trying” different surfaces by touch, any that come to hand, including those that were created and saturated with information before him.

Vakulenko’s project “Vibration Quadrum” was already presented to the public at last year’s “Mystetskyi Arsenal” and the artist’s previous personal exhibition “Contemplation”. This year the artist is exhibiting two new triptychs from this series - white on white and gold on gray. In the artistic knowledge of the world, the artist uses different methods, including Suprematist. The strict beauty and harmony of squares, first sung by Kazimir Malevich, also attracts Vakulenko. But in his interpretation the squares are multi-colored and vibrating. They combine the frozen mathematics of clear proportions and the living energy of vibration of color and lines. After all, vibration is, according to the artist, the basis, the personification of life as such. In addition, Vakulenko squares also have a hidden, secret meaning, visible to the eye only under ultraviolet lighting.

Several works from the “Colored Cities” series, created by the artist over many years, are presented at the exhibition for the birthday of Kyiv as the artist’s tribute to his beloved and native city. The first work from this series, “Green City,” was written by him back in the early 90s, and the last two were created quite recently. Despite the huge time distance between the presented works, they are united by a common symbolic interpretation of the theme of the city. You won’t see people in the cities of Vakulenko; you won’t recognize familiar shapes or famous architectural structures in them. It looks more like colored “imprints” of the soul or character of the city in its different states and moods. “The city is a living organism,” says Yuri Vakulenko. “It changes mood and color many times a day. How a person changes his facial expression."
And one more “highlight” from creative heritage The artist will be exhibited at Soviart. “Energetic portrait of a well-known girl,” the author’s interpretation of the image of the great Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, was created by the artist almost 20 years ago. Last year this work was successfully exhibited in Paris, and this year it will grace the artist’s personal exhibition in Kyiv.

On November 26, 2014, an exhibition of new works by artist Yuri Vakulenko will open in the Mystetska Zbirka gallery

In the new series “Mysterious Night Hem” Yuri Vakulenko embodies the romantic atmosphere of old Kyiv. The artist chooses corners known only to local residents. From under his brush appears the Podolsk “Morekhodka”, the golden royal house in the courtyard on Yaroslavskaya or the “blue” entrance on Yurkovskaya. On Vakulenko’s canvases, abandoned buildings with gaping black holes instead of windows and doors come to life.

The hem of Yuri Vakulenko - as in reality - is cracked and shabby. But through the cracks, rain streams and wrinkles, a bright color breaks through - deep blue, emerald, light blue or gold. The secrets of Podol are revealed to the artist when people go home, the lights come on, and the last tram rings... And then, in the silence of the night, Podolsk streets and houses tell a thousand and one stories of many generations of Kiev residents.

Yuri Vakulenko: “Relatively recently, I settled in Podol, in a house that has more than a hundred years of history. Day after day, returning home, I learned more and more secrets of ancient Podol. Sometimes I went out into the street late at night and looked into the darkest and most mysterious places, discovering old houses that come to life at night and shine with an inner light, displacing sketchy and faceless new buildings from the map and dissolving in the darkness.”

About the author: Yuriy Vakulenko is a Ukrainian painter and antiques expert. Since 2004 - Director of the National Museum of Russian Art. He studied at the Kiev Art Institute, where he graduated with a degree in restoration artist. He worked at the center for restoration and examination of the Kiev-Pechersk Nature Reserve, of which he became director in 1995. In 1988 he created the artistic association “39.2°”. Since 1990, personal exhibitions have been held in Ukraine, Italy, Hungary and Spain. The paintings are in museum collections of the Kiev-Pechersk Reserve, the National Museum of Russian Art, and in private collections. The works were exhibited at MacDougall's and Corners auctions. Corresponding member of the Petrovsky Academy of Sciences and Arts in St. Petersburg, Associate Professor of the Department of Expertise at the Academy of Culture, Honored Cultural Worker.

Mon - Sun: from 11:00 to 18:00

Free admission

Gallery “Mystetska Collection”

Kyiv, st. Tereshchenkovskaya, 13, entrance to the arch 2nd courtyard.

Tel.: +380501364737, +380442341427

[email protected]/ www.artzbirka.com

Vakulenko Yuri Evgenievich, born November 19, 1957, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia - Ukrainian painter, graphic artist, general manager National Museum of Russian Art. From 1973 to 1977 he studied painting at the Azerbaijan Art University. In 1980 he moved to Kyiv and continued his studies at KHI under the guidance of V. Budnikov and A. Kiselev. In 1986 he graduated from KHI with a degree in restoration artist. In 1988 he created the artistic association “39.2°”. In 1993 – 1995, personal exhibitions took place in Italy, Hungary and Spain. Since 2007 – corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.

Yuri Vakulenko can hardly be classified as a traditional animal painter. And it is obvious that the painter does not aim at naturalistic reproduction of images of the animal world. His “Animalism” is of a completely different kind. The animals and birds that live on the artist’s canvases have nothing to do with the real jungle; they are inhabitants of an imaginary, fairy-tale world that the painter has been creating for many years in his work.

In Vakulenko’s canvases, two roosters—a sea rooster and a land rooster—look at each other with joyful surprise and good curiosity. A turtle flies over its nest in the depths of the sea. The depths are calm and peaceful. There is no storm in them and sharks do not clap their jaws. It would seem that the cruelest animal on earth - the tiger - turns from Vakulenko into a fluffy cat, carefree sleeping and smiling in its sleep. And the dangerous panther becomes a gentle and graceful velvet bud. Even in "Battles of Giants" it is not about eating each other, but rather about hunting for a dream - the "golden bird".

In the fantasy world created by Vakulenko, almost all elements of earthly life are present. It contains air, water, earth, fire. There are forests and flowers. And there are butterflies, bumblebees, scorpions, frogs, elephants, turtles and even crocodiles, which not only coexist in harmony with the natural elements, but form a single integral whole with them. They are born from wind or fire, emerge from water or air, breathe and vibrate together in the same rhythm. In this “dance” of the elements there is only room for man. No evidence of human activity. Only one “material” trace is found on the artist’s animalistic paintings. But these are traces of God.

The “Monoanimalism” cycle can be interpreted as an escape into an “unearthly” alternative reality. Or as an attempt to “cleanse” the earth of everything human and create on it another, beautiful and peaceful “world of a thousand butterflies” - bright, colorful and colorful. And let Vakulenko be called an incorrigible romantic, and his “Monoanimalisms” seem “sweet” to some. The artist, with the despair of the “last of the Mohicans,” defends the point of view that peace, goodness and ideal reality exist, even if they live only in his own imagination and on his own canvas.

Fantastic world. Vakulenko Yuri

A restoration artist by profession and an expert in painting by old masters and antiques, Yuri Vakulenko has been heading the capital’s National Museum of Russian Art for 10 years. According to Vakulenko, the collection of the museum he heads is the third in the post-Soviet space after the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. He calls himself the keeper of rarities, priceless works, and the museum is a museum house, because in this building there was a mansion of the Tereshchenko family, where only two halls were allocated for a gallery. The office with hanging paintings also resembles a museum hall - here Yuri Vakulenko shared with Capital the features of the museum’s internal kitchen, the prospects of the branch and told how patrons help.

— Is it possible to evaluate the museum’s collection in banknotes? What are the top works?

- This is somewhat incorrect. In terms of money, the works are more or less objectively assessed by the auction, but works of such a level as ours simply do not appear at auction. The museum has paintings that can cost either €10 million or €50 million. This is the case when art can be called priceless, that is, very expensive. Even if paintings belong to the collection of a reputable museum, the cost of the work increases by an order of magnitude. However, it is impossible to own them - they are state property. And any item that leaves the museum illegally is put on the wanted list. About 600 works from our museum were taken away by the Germans during the war, and there are still no traces of them. The main works were then evacuated - mostly icons and art of the second era disappeared. half of the 19th century century. Of the 13 thousand exhibits, about 5 thousand today constitute the pearl of the collection. The most valuable are the works of artists of the first echelon - Shishkin (five significant work, the crown of his work), Vrubel, Aivazovsky, Vereshchagin, Vasnetsov, Repin.

— Of these 13 thousand, only 900 works can be seen in the museum’s halls. How do you decide what to show to the general public?

“Our museum is already 92 years old; the permanent exhibition has been crystallizing over decades. With minor changes (15‑20 %), it remains stable. We are increasing the number of shows through temporary exhibitions and partially changing the exposition, showing 2-3 thousand exhibits per year. For example, graphics cannot be on display for more than three months; they must “rest.” We are also organizing expanded exhibitions directly in the halls; this year, for the 170th anniversary of Repin, we will strengthen his hall with his own masterpieces. The exhibition of icons remains unchanged - our small but valuable collection.

— You are probably monitoring the situation on the global art market. What are the current trends in the Russian art segment?

— The works of first-tier artists enjoy sustained success. Except, perhaps, for Vrubel, who, despite his prolific output, rarely comes to auction. Works of the first order, as soon as they appear, go away. The crisis did not affect prices; their cost is measured in millions and increases annually by 10‑20 %.
 IN lately The segment of works by artists of the 1940s-1960s, for example Sergei Shishko, Nikolai Glushchenko, as well as contemporary authors, suffered. Until 2007, there was great interest in them both in Ukraine and in London and New York, prices for works were rising, but now they are not in demand. This is due to the fact that the main buyers were Russian and Ukrainian collectors, who are not ready to spend money now. After all, collecting requires peace, quiet and stability.

— Are examinations of the works of the museum collection carried out?

— A painting ends up in a museum, as a rule, from well-known sources. We study some works and carry out re-attribution if we are not sure of the artist’s authorship. We do not conduct technological examination, since there is no such possibility - only scientific research. The collections of all museums contain different works and it cannot be said that all of them are originals. For example, the famous collector David Sigalov bequeathed to us about 400 works, and only a third of them are absolute originals, but the museum keeps everything. However, the main fund contains exhibits that have a clear designation, provenance and all the necessary characteristics of museum significance.

— What condition are the works in? Do they require restoration?

— We have a very stable state of the collection. In 10 years, in my memory, not a single work has been restored in a state of disrepair. The museum has a restoration team that periodically inspects the works. It is believed that once every five years the work may require restoration. We bring some works from the collections into an exhibition form: we duplicate them on a new basis, remove deformations so that they can be shown - in new exhibitions or in an updated exhibition.

- Since 2009, the museum has had a branch - the Chocolate House. Why don’t you show works from the collection there?

“At the moment there are no necessary security conditions to display a permanent exhibition from the collection. If we have seven security lines in the museum, there are only three - this is not enough. We inherited the chocolate house as a children's art gallery, but this direction is currently not social order. So we reformatted it to art center— We hold exhibitions, concerts, slowly raise the bar and change our ideology. But children's direction remains a priority. We want to create a conservative, modern educational, cultural and artistic center - to expand lecture halls and concert activities, because a lot of creative groups do not have their own venues for performances. The main thing is that they already know about it. IN good time The chocolate house is visited by about 11 thousand people a year.

— What is the museum’s budget and main costs?

— In general, the budget is about 4 million UAH. These are utilities (about 1 million UAH), security (more than 700 thousand UAH) and salaries for 100 employees. These protected items are financed by the state, although we have already allocated part of our own funds to pay the bills, because otherwise our heating may not be turned on. There was already a precedent in 2012: we were turned off two weeks early for debts, employees and visitors froze.

— What is the most important thing you need money for today?

— We need to repair the museum building - the old glass roofs that are located above the Shishkin Hall and on which condensation accumulates. This requires about 1 million UAH. Also in the Chocolate House it is necessary to build a roof and foundation, which requires about 5 million UAH. In addition, money is required to install an alarm system - approximately 700 thousand UAH. And at our own expense, taking into account the realities of today, we want to equip the museum with a fortified bomb shelter storage facility.

— What is the museum’s attendance and how did the situation in the country affect it?

— All museums have seen a reduction in the number of visitors of up to 50%. Last year we had 70 thousand guests. At the moment we already have about 42 thousand art connoisseurs. There were more people than usual in the summer - the situation stabilized a little, and we opened the exhibition “In a Single Space”. They didn’t close even in winter, except for literally a couple of days when the metro was closed. In successful years, for example, when the anniversary exhibition of Aivazovsky was held, the museum was visited by 100 thousand people. However, for our museum, located in an old building, there is a limit on attendance - we cannot allow more than 120 thousand.

— Now the museum is showing paintings by Anatoly Krivolap. What else are in your plans for this year?

— opens on September 30 interesting project the artist of a unique satirical direction, Vladislav Shereshevsky, whose works are also in our collections. In November we are preparing an exhibition for Lermontov’s anniversary, where we will present Shishkin’s painting “In the Wild North” - it is an illustration of the poet’s poem.

UAH 4 million is the average annual budget of the Kyiv National Museum of Russian Art

— What should be the budget of a museum exhibition for it to be successful?

— We did a good private project “Two Centuries” with the publication of an album. Its budget is about $100 thousand. This is even a lot. On average, to prepare a high-quality museum project, 50-70 thousand UAH is enough.

— Is participation in international projects beneficial for the museum?

— Based on the financial component, yes. We receive royalties. In particular, one of the foreign royalties was used for the publication of Kyiv-Vrubel. From the point of view of popularization, this gives little, it has practically no effect on recognition abroad and on attendance at home. We mainly worked with Russian institutions, although recently there have been problems with the return of exhibits. For this reason, after Shishkin’s exhibition in Tretyakov Gallery we did not participate in the next two exhibitions. We also work with Western partners - Finland, where Shishkin’s exhibition is planned, and the Baltic countries. A foreign project usually takes quite a long time to prepare—two to three years.

— Do you have a personal collection of works of art?

— When I was still working at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, I collected a small collection of a sacred nature - these are personalized icons of St. George the Victorious. Knowing my little weakness, my friends often give them to me. My favorite icon hangs in my office - this George moves with me from office to office. I somehow unexpectedly noticed the icon in an antique store and told my friends. And quite unexpectedly, they gave it to me for my 40th birthday. This is a Russian icon early XIX century is original in that George is depicted half-length, while usually he is written either in full height, or on horseback. This is my kind of talisman. And by the way, this icon was used to consecrate the Church of St. George near the Kievsky railway station. My adult children are also involved in art management, organizing auctions, communicating with contemporary artists and collect their works, as well as works by Ukrainian artists of the 1960s-1970s.

Yuriy Vakulenko is a Ukrainian painter and antiques expert. Since 2004 - Director of the National Museum of Russian Art. Studied at the Kiev Art Institute (now the National Academy fine arts and architecture), who graduated with a degree in restoration artist. He worked at the center for restoration and examination of the Kiev-Pechersk Nature Reserve, of which he became director in 1995. In 1988 he created the artistic association “39.2°”. Since 1990, personal exhibitions have been held in Ukraine, Italy, Hungary and Spain. The paintings are in museum collections of the Kiev-Pechersk Reserve, the National Museum of Russian Art, and in private collections. The works were exhibited at MacDougall’s and Corners auctions. Corresponding member of the Petrovsky Academy of Sciences and Arts in St. Petersburg, Associate Professor of the Department of Expertise at the Academy of Culture, Honored Cultural Worker.

In essence, there is a museum worker in every artist. Picasso also talked about this, comparing himself to “a collector who puts together a collection for himself and paints pictures that others liked. This is exactly where I start, and then something new turns out,” said the great Pablo.

Vakulenko, as the custodian of museum valuables, has every reason to agree with this statement. Moreover, being also a restorer of the highest standard, having spent his entire life studying and comprehending from the inside the depths of the great works of great masters, he, like no one else, knows the other, inner, “secret” life of ancient paintings: what they talk about and what they are silent about, what ails them and what is hidden behind impenetrable glass and craquelure. Returning to these inexhaustible sources again and again, Yuri Vakulenko naturally continues the dialogue with them on his own canvases, already as an artist trying to solve hitherto unsolved puzzles.

“Infanta” for Yuri Vakulenko is a particularly fertile object for “unraveling.” As you know, one of Velazquez’s famous “Infantes” lives in Kyiv, and even next door, which means constant meetings, exchange of energies, the gaze of an expert. “The more I looked, the more I noticed how much was hidden in this little girl, betrothed from birth and doomed to a lifelong “golden cage,” says Vakulenko. “For more than three hundred years she has been looking at us, clad in a luxurious outfit like armor, this aged child with a sad soul, her gaze both excites and gives no rest.” After Velazquez, the soul of Infanta Margarita haunted many. Among them are Picasso, Dali and Miro. In literature - Wilde. In poetry - Antokolsky, with his poignant lines:

“Then centuries passed. One. Another, and a Third.

And looks past her eyes, as he ordered her,

Infanta is a girl in a cloudy portrait.

In front of her is the deserted Louvre. Gray-haired museum hall."

In a word, Yuri Vakulenko has joined a worthy company in the current, 21st century. Vakulenko has several infantas and there is a huge distance between them - they are like stages of a lived life. “Don’t be afraid to go too far, because the truth is always further,” said Marcel Proust. Vakulenko is not afraid. He boldly invades historical territory. Talks with the wise Velasquez. And it seems he has something to say.

Yuriy Vakulenko is a Ukrainian painter and graphic artist.

In 1977 he graduated from the Baku Art College. Azima Azim-zade.

In 1986 he graduated from the Kiev State Art Institute (NAOMA) with a degree in restoration artist.

Founder artistic association"39.2°" (1988).

Honored cultural worker, associate professor of the department of examination of the National Academy of Management Personnel of Culture and Arts, full member of the Petrovsky Academy of Science and Arts in St. Petersburg (2007), member of the International Association of Museums. Leading expert in the field of antiques.

General Director of the Kyiv National Museum of Russian Art.

Photo by Yulia Naumova