Philosophy of Imagination Automatic translate

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of works by People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, Professor Pyotr Petrovich Kozorezenko “Philosophy of Imagination”. The exhibition, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the master’s creative activity, will include graphic sheets from the “Moscow” series and illustrations for P. P. Ershov’s fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” made in the 1980s.

The artist works in different genres, showing a wide creative range and versatility of interests and capabilities. Art critics note the painter’s desire for psychological development of characters and masterly conveyance of the beauty of the real world. His works include complex thematic paintings, portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. The “Moscow 80s” series, made in tempera, reflects the experiences of the author, who in his work comes into contact with the close and familiar theme of his native city. Everyday scenes, cozy corners of parks and courtyards, painted with warm humor, are interspersed with images of panoramas. City views are saturated with a range of shades that express the spirit of the multifaceted capital. The feeling of varied dynamic life comes from the very plastic structure of the drawing, created by the moving interaction of contours, the breadth of the tonal solution, and the rhythm of perspective cuts.

Moscow by P. P. Kozorezenko is an endless love story about the past and present, which is written with light and colors, inspiration and experience. Her landscapes with narrow streets and wide avenues are inspired, first of all, by historical transformations, and from these positions the master uses the theme of the collision of the old with the new as the basis for his works. Both in winter and in summer, he looks for the passing antiquity, like Polenov’s “Moscow Courtyard,” or those majestic ensembles reflecting the movement of the new century, and captures them, opening the original page in his poem about the great city.

A significant role in the work of Pyotr Petrovich is played by easel graphics, created based on the literary works of Russian writers. The series of drawings for the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” presented at the exhibition introduced their original word into the history of the visual retelling of P. P. Ershov’s immortal work. Avoiding excessively free handling of the classics, treating the text with respect and care, the graphic follows not so much the letter of the amazingly figurative, descriptive narrative, but rather its spirit and general poetic architectonics, representing a magical fusion of the miraculous and the ordinary.

The originality of the author’s concept comes from the traditions of the art of book illustration and cinema, which are connected with the achievements of a brilliant galaxy of Russian painters and graphic artists of the early 20th century - I. Ya. Bilibin and A. N. Benois, M. V. Dobuzhinsky and K. A. Somov, E. D. Polenova, brothers A. M. and V. M. Vasnetsov. A graduate of VGIK, Pyotr Kozorezenko created images as if seen through the lens of a movie camera, from the director’s stage. It is no coincidence that he called this approach “illustrations for compositional development”: his drawings should be considered as an original, skillfully executed “storyboard”. The “space” of the fairy tale appears before the viewer from unusual angles of view: in close-up and distant plans, from a bird’s eye view and from low approaches. This technique gives the plots a specially expressive three-dimensionality, and the entire cycle - the intricate stereoscopic appearance of a “magic lantern”.

Inheriting the traditions of Russian realistic art, the artist remains true to his interests, depicting only what “sounds” in himself. Excellent mastery of form and the gift of improvisation allow him to express the impression that he has, without striving to keep up with the changing state of nature or society. The author’s works, united in academic halls, will allow one to appreciate their place in contemporary art.

The material was prepared based on articles by A. Yu. Sidorov and N. N. Christie.

Pyotr Petrovich Kozorezenko was born on July 31, 1953 in Moscow. Graduated from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. Conducts active creative, social and pedagogical activities. Since 1990 - Chairman of the Youth Association of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia. Since 1996, he has been a professor at the Department of Graphic Art at the Russian State University of Arts and Industry named after. S. G. Stroganova. On his initiative and under his direct leadership, the Academy of Arts “Stroganov Traditions” was created on the basis of the institute. In 2005 he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, and since 2006 - Doctor of Art History.