Mikhail Verkholantsev. "Other civilizations" Automatic translate

March 21 at 16 hours in the halls of the Russian Academy of Arts at the address: st. Prechistenka 21, an exhibition of works by the honored artist of the Russian Federation, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts Mikhail Mikhailovich Verkholantsev “Other Civilizations” opens. To the 80th anniversary of the artist and the 60th anniversary of his creative activity.

Mikhail Verkholantsev is a recognized master of modern woodcut and book art, a versatile artist working in the field of applied and easel graphics, design and painting. He was born in 1937 in Moscow in a family of artists. The great-grandson of the famous collector N.V. Basnin, engravings and drawings from the collection of which comprise a significant part of the graphic fund of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. In 1961 he graduated from the Moscow Higher Industrial School of Arts (formerly Stroganovskoye), where he studied under the remarkable masters: V. Egorov, V. Kozlinsky, I. Hilter, Yu. Sluchevsky, V. Komardenkov. He has a great erudition in the field of engraving and drawing.

In such a complex and rare form of engraving as woodcut, the artist created his own unique artistic style, which is characterized by a combination of perfect technique with expression and compositional energy. Its finest miniatures - end woodcuts “work” perfectly on a book or magazine page. Their purest virtuoso touch is preserved even at high magnification: engravings acquire a monumental sound and resemble cardboard to tapestries. Several tapestries were created precisely because of the increased engravings and implemented in the material by Palazzo Design in China.

The plots of engravings by M. Verkholantsev are diverse: these are the Karelian epic “Kalevala”, biblical and gospel parables, antiquity. The artist’s picturesque canvases absorbed the energy and scrupulousness of silver engravings. An unmistakable fit into the scale and exquisite composition open the artist the opportunity to create a memorable image.

In the works of Mikhail Verkholantsev there is not even the slightest reaction to actual stylistic movements. Even as a student, he discovered mannerism, passionately loved the grotesques, paintings, architecture, furniture, small plastics created in this style. Almost all of his compositions are inspired by the works of musicians of this era, whose names came to life in the artist’s works.

Engravings of Verkholantsev with their silver shimmer, the color of his paintings are saturated with the spirit of mannerism. Hosanna Rosso Fiorentino, Primaticcio, Pontormo and the grotesque ornaments of Peter Fletner are sung loudly here. “I tried to achieve a special state typical of the work of the mannerists: the solemnly twilight state of nature, which had calmed down before the approaching thunderstorm. Here and morning sfumato, here there is peace and at the same time uneasiness, an enthusiastic expectation of the miraculous… ”, the author says.

Mikhail Verholantsev is also known as a designer of books and magazines. Working in the journal RT (Radio Television), the artist published many new design finds. He collaborated with many publishers: Soviet Writer, Young Guard, Pravda, Children’s Literature, Rainbow, Science, Pedagogy, Soyuzinforkino. With the participation of the artist published over 1000 books, albums, magazines.

M. Verkholantsev is a wonderful stylist who feels everything characteristic in the era depicted. All the images of the artist are tart and sharp paraphrases of classics texts. Since 2010, the most significant works of Verkholantsev in the field of domestic books are engravings of the novel by L. Tolstoy “The Kreutzer Sonata”, illustrations for books by the Deutsche Publishing House (novels and short stories by Andrei Platonov, the novel “Ordinary History” by I. Goncharov, novels and short stories L. Tolstoy). In 2014, for the book “Virtues and Vices”, the artist was awarded the title of laureate of the All-Russian contest “Image of a Book” in the nomination “Author’s Book”.

Mikhail Verkholantsev was awarded numerous prizes, medals and diplomas at international competitions and the Biennale of graphics in Russia, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, China, Switzerland.

Personal exhibitions of prints and illustrations by the artist were held in many Russian cities: Irkutsk, Tobolsk, Tyumen, Voronezh, Ufa, etc.

The visual language of the artist is unique. It is marked by theatrical pathos, the unusual construction of the composition, the enormous expression of images and the special decorativeness that is characteristic of the aesthetics of Mannerism and Baroque with their ineradicable desire to surprise.

The exhibition runs on April 9, 2017.