Exhibition of Galina Makaveeva and Yuri Kopeiko at the Russian Academy of Arts 
Automatic translate
December 23, 2014 at 16 hours at the Russian Academy of Arts at the address: st. Prechistenka, 21 opens an exhibition of works by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Galina Makaveeva and People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, full member of the Russian Academy of Arts Yuri Kopeiko (1933-2010).
The exhibition will be held from December 23, 2014 to January 11, 2015.
The exhibition introduces the works of famous Russian artists, who for many years have been connected by common family and spiritual interests. But in the work, each of them went his own way. The exposition included graphic works - landscapes of Russia, Mongolia, Greece, Jerusalem, China, Paris and Amsterdam, portraits and still lifes, as well as book graphics.
G.A. Makaveeva is an artist with his own style of writing, his vision of the surrounding reality. Her landscapes and still lifes accurately and reliably convey the unique state of nature, the whole variety of forms of real life. And at the same time, they carry an echo of the feelings and thoughts of the author.
G. Makaveeva
In 1959, G. Makaveeva graduated from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute, where she studied with famous masters: A. Goncharov, I. Chekmazov, P. Zakharov. For many years she worked as an artist of a children’s book, creating elegant, funny and wise illustrations for the works of A. Barto, V. Berestov, Yu. Koval, I. Tokmakova and many other remarkable writers. Over 70 books with her illustrations have been published. In 1969-1979 - the main artist of the children’s magazine "Murzilka". She participated in international book art exhibitions in Bologna, Barcelona, Bratislava, Strasbourg. In the same years she began to engage in easel graphics and painting.
G. Makaveeva
The works of G. Makaveeva show both the gift of improvisation, and the ability to think constructively, and the skill of a colorist. They represent all the richness of the color scheme - from the quiet flicker of exquisite delicate tones to bright decorativeness. Contrasts of light and shadow, light, free “play of light” permeate the space of many of the artist’s paintings (“Spring”, “Old Ships. Crimea”, “O. Aegina. Evening ”, “Village Sulost”, a cycle dedicated to Jerusalem). Recently, “windows” and bouquets of flowers have become her favorite motifs. The landscape seen through the open window, whether it be the magnificent nature of Altai or an empty manor, is both emotional and epic. It has a lively impression and a high degree of artistic generalization.
G. Makaveeva
G. Makaveeva turns to different graphic techniques, inventively and accurately using the capabilities of each of them. In light, transparent watercolors there is a lot of air and light, sun glares glide over the roofs of houses, trees, transforming the world around. Extremely expressive are dense, color-rich pastels ("The Road to the Temple Mount. Jerusalem", "Old Gurzuf", "Roofs of Paris").
As noted by the famous graphic artist May Miturich, "easel sheets, the artist’s paintings testify to harsh self-discipline, find a connection with the Moscow tradition, dating back to the plastic revelations of the avant-garde of the beginning of the century."
Yu.V. Kopeiko was one of the leading masters of contemporary graphic art. At the turn of the 1980s - 1990s, he devoted himself entirely to painting, in which his powerful natural gift of a colorist was revealed. Free from any noticeable influences, the artist created his own style, where strict documentary was combined with fantasy, dream, and “courageous lyricism”.
Y. Kopeiko
The artist was born in 1933 in the city of Sverdlovsk. In 1959 he graduated from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute, graphic department, where he studied under A. Goncharov, P. Zakharov, G. Goroshenko. He designed and illustrated more than a hundred books published in the largest publishing houses of the country. The artist was fascinated by literature related to the eternal desire of mankind for everything new, unusual, which drives scientific and technological progress. His works are imbued with the spirit of "real romance." For many years, his creative fate was related to the space theme, he repeatedly visited Baikonur, where he saw rocket launches, so his work is so authentic and sincere. The artist designed books about Y. Gagarin, G. Titov, A. Nikolayev and other astronauts, created a cycle of 26 paintings, in which the history of astronautics in our country is clearly and convincingly presented. Yu.V. Kopeiko was awarded the title of Full Member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics. K.E. Tsiolkovsky.
Y. Kopeiko
Of particular interest are the works of Y. Kopeiko, resulting from numerous creative trips around Russia and the world. They have nothing to do with “tourist experiences”. Each of the paintings is a pictorial or graphic short story, filled with thoughts about the history, culture, customs of a country. The nature of central Russia is one of the favorite motifs in the artist’s work. The artist, in his own way, saw and comprehended the most simple, everyday subjects, giving them a lyrical and philosophical sound. In the landscapes of the master - all the shades of the annual cycle - dazzling green summers, autumn wilting, quiet winters - they always feel the presence of man, the constant movement of vitality.
In 2003, the picturesque cycles "The Cycle" and "In the Holy Places" were awarded the gold medal of the Russian Academy of Arts.
The exhibition will feature some of the best works by Y. Kopeiko in book graphics - illustrations for A. Kuprin’s books “White Poodle” and “Shot” and Ch. Aitmatov’s novels “The Pinto Dog Running Over the Sea” and “The White Ship” and others.
The art critic M. Chegodaeva wrote: “… He did not manage to fully realize his plans, but he managed to do a lot. He left, as the astronauts left, died instantly, as people associated with technology, with machines, die. And forever connected with his vast, incomprehensible Heaven. "