Mikhail Ivanov. Painting / Graphics Automatic translate

Mikhail Ivanov was born in Leningrad in 1944. He studied at the Secondary School of Art and at the Faculty of Art History of the Institute. AND. E. Repina. In the second half of the 60s he lived for a long time in Moscow with artists of Moscow unofficial art. Since 1975, he participated in the movement of Leningrad unofficial artists. He performed in samizdat with artistic criticism. Since the mid-80s, he worked professionally as an icon painter. During the years of perestroika, he participated in the establishment of the St. Petersburg Institute of Theology and Philosophy, taught a special course on the symbolism of world art, and published a number of articles on this topic. He taught art history at a school at the institute. In the late 90s he left icon painting, returned to painting and graphics.

Mikhail Ivanov:

I have been counting my paintings since 1970. The landmarks of this time were Malevich / whom it was not possible to see in the original for a long time /, Petrov-Vodkin, Kuznetsov, Morandi. The initial proximity connects with the Russian icon, paintings of Rokotov, Venetsianov, Alexander Ivanov, Vrubel. The circle of Leningrad artists with whom he communicated in the 70–80s was close in aspirations: V.P. Volkov, V.I. Levitin, P.M. Kondratiev, P.M. Basmanov, V.V. Sterligov. An important impression of Moscow painting was the painting of Tyshler.

In 1975, at the exhibitions of the Leningrad underground, he met with artists of the Arefevsky circle. Friendly relations have developed with Richard Vasmi, Vladimir Shagin, Valentin Gromov. The creativity of Sterligov, Basmanov, Arefievites I consider a phenomenon of national importance.

The tradition of the Russian post-avant-garde remains close to me: landscapes by Ermolaeva, Drevin, Labas / their constructiveness and expression /, Grinberg’s lyricism, painting by Yuri Vasnetsov. These are artists who have gone through the plastic training of the avant-garde and overcame, each in its own way, its nihilism and authoritarianism.

Plastic installations of INHUK and the lyrical open-air of the pre-war “Circle” are important landmarks of St. Petersburg painting today. I see my work at the intersection of these traditions.

Larisa Skobkina:

In the media, social networks, on opening days, the name of Mikhail Ivanov does not often sound, although for many it is one of the most significant in the art of St. Petersburg. For wide popularity ”Mikhail Ivanov is unsuitable: he is complex as an artist and is far from self-promotion. In professional communication does not mitigate sharp assessments, scaring away the “right” people. Especially valuable for those who understand.

Ivanov’s painting combines expression with internal discipline and analytical reflection. Art criticism is another of his calling. In the 70–80s, Ivanov acted as a critic, an active participant in the “informal” movement, and an organizer of exhibitions and public discussions. In his articles on art, the artist summarizes over the years the hardened approach to the image based on professional experience and a wide range of humanitarian knowledge. It represents a rare type of thinking artist today - a master, a scholar, and an analyst.

Alexander Florensky:

… Serving in the army near Moscow, Ivanov talked with the most interesting artists of the Moscow unofficial painting: Roginsky, Kabakov, Schwartzman, Krasnopevtsev. He lived in Ukraine for two years. He returned to Petersburg in 1975 at the time of exacerbation of artistic life. In the late 70s he arranged apartment exhibitions and discussions at home, patronized young artists / in particular, introduced the future organizers of the Mitki group to each other /. In the 80s he was seriously engaged in icon painting. Participated in the painting of temples. In 1998, he completely left icon painting and returned to painting and graphics. Starting from the 60s, Ivanov, who was formed under the influence of the works of Malevich and Sterligov, was mainly engaged in “iconic”, as he himself calls it, painting, but at the same time periodically worked from nature. In recent years, urban motifs have appeared in his full-scale things, previously almost never met. Sharp and accurate drawings, in which echoes of the influence of Morandi and late Mitrokhin are felt, are a new round in the work of one of the most significant artists of St. Petersburg of his generation.

Personal exhibitions

1963 - editors of the magazine "Star", Leningrad
1969 - Leningrad House of Architects / together with Vladlen Gavrilchik and Tatyana Kerner /
1980 - Shop of the Union of Artists / together with Valentin Levitin /, Leningrad
1980 - House of Artists / Beit Homonym /, Jerusalem, Israel
1995 - “Icon and Painting”, F.M. Museum-Apartment Dostoevsky, St. Petersburg
2000 - 2003 - exhibitions in the Creative Center "Mitki-VKHUTEMAS", St. Petersburg
2003 - The State Museum "Tsarskoye Selo Collection", Pushkin
2004 - Feasts and Nature, Museum of Nonconformist Art, St. Petersburg
2005 - “Summer Models”, editors of the magazine “Star”, St. Petersburg
2008 - Graphics, Borey Gallery, St. Petersburg
2009 - Gallery "Spas", St. Petersburg
2016 - “Still lifes with toys”, studio of Yu. Molodkovets, St. Petersburg
2016 - Exhibition of graphics in the Lermantov library, St. Petersburg
2016 - Painting Exhibition at IFA, St. Petersburg