NB Art Newsletter ISSUE #2 September 2010

The wife of my Japanese friend arrived in Moscow with her son August 5. It was her first trip ever to and the heat was enormous. I wondered how she INSIDE THIS ISSUE: would take Moscow after clean and beautiful Japan. That's what her husband wrote to me: • Light Shining from the “As you say, it is very bad climate in Moscow now. However, the bad start is also East. Central Asia through good, because everything will be getting better time after time”. the eyes of the Soviet artists. We all embrace the new season with excitement and the anticipation of new • interesting cultural events. The theaters start their new season; there are concerts AWO Art Afternoon at NB and performances all over the place. There are wonderful walks in the parks, trips on August 10th. Photos. to the Golden Ring cities and great opportunity to take pictures of the Russian • Mark your calendar: architecture as the crisp clean autumn weather provides the best conditions for exhibition of artworks by architecture shots. Mikhail Natarevich at NB Gallery. The gallery has been working hard the whole summer, carrying its work through all the heat and not closing even for a day. We refurbished the place, took a few • Studying Russian Art. exciting art search trips and were rewarded with a few really marvelous art Young British artist collections which we will share with you this season. Our art season starts with the Rioghnach Hannan paints collection of the paintings by Mikhail Natarevich – one of the great artists of St. Tchaikovsky’s Piano. Petersburg school. It will be followed by the "Soviet Industry March" exhibit depicting industrial artworks from 1960s-1970s, exciting Christmas exhibit, the new • Order a print photographs by the British photographer Henrietta Challinor and the beautiful exhibit of the paintings from the Baltic States. Natalia Bykova, director

RUSSIAN ART HISTORY of 20 th CENTURY with NB DON’T MISS Light Shining from the East. Central Asia through the eyes of the Soviet • . artists. PYOTR KONCHALOVSKY Central Asia has traditionally been a sort of a Promised Land for the Russian artists TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE – a powerful source of inspiration, a prototype of the earthly paradise. For the RUSSIAN AVANTGARDE Soviet artists, it was often a place of salvation – not only literally, during the war September 16 — November 14, and repression, but also creatively. State , Engeneering Building, Irina Vitman came to Central Asia during 12, Lavrushensky Lane the Second World War as a student of the Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Asian • PAINTERS OF RUSSIAN motives shined through her work since then. ABROAD. MARIANNA von The luminous palette, the translucent air, WEREFKIN (1860-1938) the soft fluid silhouettes that reflect the slow September 10 — November 21, pace of eastern time on her paintings create State Tretyakov Gallery, the mysterious effect of emerging 10, Krymsky Val, halls # 80 – 82 memories. These works portray the

quintessential Central Asia as usually seen Anniversary retrospective show to by the Soviet artists – full of bliss, mystique and stillness. In Vitman's Portrait of a the 150 anniversary of the Woman bliss is replaced with expressionism. She paints the woman's face with Russian-Swiss artist with traditions large color patches on the background of an intensely ornamented rug. Patterns from from realism (Ilya Repin was and ornaments are another key to the mysterious East. In a series of his works her master) to , then Pavel Semyachkin mixes the spontaneity and vibrancy of children's drawings with – to expressionism. a professional sophistication of painting poses, gestures and movements. The ironic fairytale tone of the scene of Bird Fight by Vasily Terekhov is followed by complex symbolic images of his painting Bazar that captivates the viewer into the East market scene. Sunny Bukhara by Mikhail Kuznetsov is seen by the eyes of an enthusiastic traveler and is strikingly different from Vasily Terekhov's work Bukhara. Karavan-Saray . Tereknov painted a closed, hermetically sealed world that is reminiscent of the famous film The Desert of the Tartars , where permanence is a synonym for suspense and not harmony. The laws of socialist realism lost its force in the reality of sun-scorched desert, craggy mountains, camels and nomads and quietly gave way to the eternal values. Anna Eramzhyan, art historian AWO Art Afternoon at NB Gallery

On August 10 th NB Gallery hosted members of American Women Organization. We thank Megan Moates, the President of AWO in Moscow, for her energy and help in organization of this wonderful Summer event. Beautiful paintings, champagne with cheese and fruits, smiles of the ladies who came to the gallery on one of the hottest days of August and their deep interest in Russian art made everybody forget about heat and smog which covered the city that day. Thank you to all art lovers!

Elizabeth A Hoyle, MPC Social Services: “Thank you very much for inviting us to your gallery on Tuesday. I really enjoyed the opportunity to view such an exciting and diverse collection of art. In particular, I was very interested to learn about those artists who are not as well known, especially the artist who was a theatre set designer and painted for her own enjoyment. I would really like to visit your gallery again as I am sure there is a lot of work still to see.”

STUDYING RUSSIAN ART 2010 marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. As a clarinetist myself, I wanted to visit Tchaikovsky’s home in Klin, 85 kilometers north-west of Moscow, where Tchaikovsky spent the last few years of his life. The main room in Klin captures much of the intimacy of Tchaikovsky and I was startled to learn about some of the dark and complex aspects of his personality.

At Christmas I had the privilege of watching the world

Rioghnach Hannan class Bolshoi Ballet perform The Nutcracker in the “Tchaikovsky’s Piano”, 2010 Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow; a technical masterpiece enjoyed by an intelligent and responsive audience who clapped spontaneously with thunderous applause to Rioghnach lives in Moscow every pleasing move. A couple of weeks later, I and is of British/Irish heritage. watched the English Royal Ballet perform The She is a student at the Nutcracker in the Royal Opera House in London; a Cheltenham Ladies’ College. magical performance supported by opulent costumes Rioghnach is an emerging young artist who sketches and and extravagant stage sets. paints in oil and acrylics – she uses light and colour to I was struck by the contrast between the dark side of highlight the atmosphere and Tchaikovsky’s character and his outstanding musical focus on essential subject

matter. Rioghnach is inspired Vladimir Andreev "Piano", 1945, genius. by the magnificent NB Gallery architecture, historical giants

It is ironic that the grand Bekker piano, the subject of and scenes unique to Russia. the painting, was found to be out of tune when Currently Rioghnach is Tchaikovsky died - there is a definitely a “big story” in working on a project based on this one room. her visit to Leo Tolstoy’s home By Rioghnach Hannan, art student in Yasnaya Polyana. MARK YOUR CALENDAR. SEPTEMBER 2010

MIKHAIL NATAREVICH (1907 – 1979). PAINTINGS September 24 – October 31 Dear Art lovers, The family of Mikhail Natarevich has finally decided to trust us with the collection of his paintings. Many of these paintings were created by the artist without the intention to be shown to the public.

In 2007 the first significant exhibition of Natarevich’s paintings was held at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. It was dedicated to the centenary of his birth and became a real discovery for art collectors. The Russian Museum bought a great selection of his works after the exhibition had finished. Now you have a unique chance to see the artworks of one of the most interesting Leningrad artist of the second half of the XXth century.

Mikhail Natarevich studied at the Penn studio in Vitebsk – starting just a few years after Mark Chagall left it. Continuing his education, he moved to Leningrad (now ) and entered the Academy of the Arts there. His professor was a talented artist Alexey Savinov who used to be close to the Blue Rose group in 1910s and to the Russian symbolists. Savinov was a fascinating art teacher who expertly conveyed to his students the practice of the Russian and European art of the late XIX – early XX centuries. In 1938 Savinov’s course was disbanded, and Natarevich continued his studies in a class led by a different teacher, the famous Soviet artist Boris Ioganson. Ioganson’s influence on Natarevich was significant, especially noticeable in his works of 1940s-1950s.

One of the very interesting Natarevich’s works of this period is Lenin in the First Rest House for the Workers (1948) . The painting is a study for a big 3.6 x 5.4 m oil Lenin visiting the Rest House for the Workers at the Kamenny Island in 1921 . Natarevich worked on it between 1948 and 1956 especially for the interior of that rest house. The rest house was organized in 1920s at the Polovtsev’s Dacha in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). The building is considered to be one of the best works of a famous Russian neoclassical architect Ivan Fomin (1872-1936). Fomin built it in 1911-1913 for the State Secretary A.A. Polovtsev. The most thriving period of Natarevich’s creativity is linked with the1960s and the “thaw” period of the Soviet era. His artistic style changed drastically then, he started to work more in tempera, used large planes of colour, taking his paintings to the scope of the frescos. His works of this period show his own strong artistic style with some influences by Petrov-Vodkin’s painting and Dionysius’s frescoes. Cutting down all the details to a necessary minimum his paintings would no longer tell a story but bring to life a complicated symbolical image. The symbols were naturally growing from real life where a fragile footbridge would become a symbol of the border between Heaven and Earth. Water was an important motive in his paintings of that period – a magic mirror for the figures in his paintings, as also for the sky. The artist’s intention wasn't to make a portrait or a genre scene, but to create a world in its best moments of universal harmony of old and young people, animals and nature. We invite you to experience the world of Mikhail Natarevich this September at NB Gallery!

NB GALLERY POLICY ORDER A PRINT

1. Home/office trial basis NB Gallery collection includes the best examples of the We are happy to announce that starting Socialist Realism and Impressionism of 1920–1980s. You September 7 you can order a print of any can take paintings home and see if you like them. There is painting from NB Gallery collection. no fee and no obligations. We want to be sure you like what The cost of the print depends on its size and you buy. frame.

2. Info about the painter and Certificate of Authenticity Each artwork purchased at the gallery is accompanied by full information about the painter and the Certificate of Authenticity (proof of the provenance). 3. Export documents Ministry of Culture papers are provided for export purposes free of charge for any art purchase over 250 USD. 4. Restoration The Gallery will help organize restoration of the artwork, including stretching and recommendations on the restoration. 5. Framing

The Gallery can organize the framing of the artwork and assist the clients in finding the appropriate frame. 6. Professional Appraisal papers for Insurance purposes Please, stop by at the gallery to see some For insurance purposes (especially important during samples. shipment) the gallery provides Professional appraisal/evaluation report. The Appraisal Evaluation Report is accepted by insurance companies and can help you reimburse any unfortunate losses/damages during the shipment or storing. 7. Packing and Shipment The gallery can organize the packing and shipment of the painting(s) to any part of the world. 8. Hanging the artwork The gallery can assist clients in placing and hanging the artwork. OTHER ART-RELATED SERVICES - office collections and exhibitions; - lectures on Russian Art; - leasing art for special events; - hosting of business meetings, Art Branches, evening private parties - publishing art catalogues and related printed materials (postcards, calendars, bookmarks, etc.)

Just in case you have forgotten WHERE WE HOW TO GET TO US ARE

Our address: 6/2 Sivtsev Vrazhek, entr.1, # 2 Door code 002 Phone : +7 495 697-4006, 737-5298 Working hours: Tuesday- Saturday 11am - 7 pm Sunday 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Monday - closed or any time by appointment Our e-mail: [email protected] www. nbgallery.ru