Anniversary exhibition of Hamid Savkuev "Heart" Automatic translate

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of works by People’s Artist of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation and Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Khamid Vladimirovich Savkuev "Heart", which completes a series of anniversary projects by the author, timed to coincide with his 60th birthday. The exhibition will demonstrate more than 70 paintings and 30 sculptures created over the past ten years, as well as a series of graphic sheets, illustrations to the works of classics and folk epics.

Hamid Savkuev’s canvases have their own special "Savkuev iconography", and perhaps this is one of the secrets of such a strong impact of his painting on the viewer. The master’s work as a phenomenon goes beyond the national, represents the phenomenon of the Caucasian civilization and fits into the context of world artistic thought. The scale of his thinking is of a pan-human nature, and the heroes of his canvases have the features of powerful biblical characters. The tragedy of human existence, the tragedy through which the heroic and immortal in man is revealed - this is the main semantic constant of the works presented at the exhibitions.

Three layers of the Adyghe history are shown in the epic large-format canvases "Narts", "Pieta" and "Tree of Life". The first layer of history ("Narts") is the era of the Narts, pagan warriors and heroes who challenged the chthonic forces of the old world. The second layer ("Pieta") accumulates the sorrowful results of the hundred-year Caucasian War. In the center of the work is a young woman holding an empty burka in front of her, and the space to the left, right and above her is filled with figures of grieving women. The third layer is "Tree of Life". The tree itself is symbolic with its chopped off branches, on which young shoots are visible. The men located at its roots seem to have come from old daguerreotypes, and the children sitting on the branches inspire hope for the future.

Thematically related to the above-mentioned paintings are works of a smaller format – “Old Abadzekh”, “Ubykhs”, “Old Warrior”. The latter is especially heartfelt: an angel in a gray Circassian coat and leather boots lifts a fallen warrior to heaven, and instead of wings, a white hood flutters behind his back. The scale of understanding and artistic embodiment of such a complex theme evokes genuine respect. The spirit of nomads, the breath of the endless Kazakh steppe are conveyed in such paintings by H. Savkuev as “Apocalypse”, “Messenger”, as well as in the graphic sheets “Ark”. The basis of the author’s graphic art is energetic, free drawing. He confidently draws figures of people and animals in complex angles, giving preference to chiaroscuro modeling of forms.

The artist’s image of the mother is multifaceted and multifaceted. "Giving Shadow" - a mother leans over her child, shielding him from the scorching heat; "Parents" - the mother of the family sat down to rest after milking the cow; the sculptures "Mother" and "Mother-Intercessor" - women protect their children. And how piercingly "read" the painting "Baryp kayt, balam. Song" ("Come back, my child") - a Kazakh woman sees her son off to the threshold of the yurt. The title of the work was a line from a Kazakh folk song, in which the mother addresses her son with a request and parting words to remember his home, roots and to be sure to return. The feelings and thoughts conveyed by the artist are familiar to everyone who left their home, freeing themselves from their mother’s embrace and heading off into the wide, unknown world. Another important theme for the artist is the animal world in interaction with man. "Sacrificial Bull", "Merino", "Nurse", "Mourning of a Horse", "Farewell to a Tibetan Mastiff", "Prayer of the Shepherds" - these are not just animal paintings. The unity of the world of people and animals, their centuries-old and deep connection, full of love, tragedy, and sacrifice, is presented on these canvases. The laconic and vivid language of simple and metaphorical images makes these tales understandable to people of different religions and ethnic groups.

Hamid Savkuev also has a unique sense of humor, very subtle and kind. "Commotion in the Second Lesken", "Man with Empty Pockets" - it is impossible not to smile, looking at these canvases. The sculpture "Sheared" amazes - so much beauty, grace in this sheep, and its thin, almost ballet leg set aside is a smile in bronze. Among the remarkable sculptural works, each of which deserves a separate discussion, the portrait of Lev Gumilyov is absolutely amazing. It resembles a Polovtsian menhir, and in his face appear the features of formidable nomads who emerged from the depths of Asia.

Today, Hamid Savkuev is in the prime of his creative powers and at the zenith of his fame, but he does not stop, like “The Walker” at one of his works.

The text was prepared by the Information Department (press service) of the Russian Academy of Arts based on an article by the poet Dzhambulat Koshubaev.

Khamid Vladimirovich Savkuev was born in 1964 in Kazakhstan. He received his professional education at the art and graphic department of the Pedagogical Institute in Karachayevsk, and in 1995 he graduated from the monumental painting workshop of the academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, professor A.A. Mylnikov at the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repin.

In 1999 he took part in the restoration of the paintings of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. His works are in museum and private collections in Russia, Holland, France, Germany, Spain, China and other countries. The artist’s work has been repeatedly recognized with prizes and medals, including academic ones: Diploma for the painting "Bride" at the Institute of Ethnography in Nalchik (1996); Commemorative Medal for participation in the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow (1999); Silver Medal (2005); Jubilee Badge "250 Years of the Russian Academy of Arts" (2007); Diploma and Gratitude for participation in the exhibition of contemporary art of the Caucasus "Peaks. In the Palms of the Sky" (2012); Silver Medal "Worthy" (2012), Gold Medal "Worthy" (2014); Gratitude for participation in the exhibition project “Ship. Journey through time and image” (2015) and others.

Lives and works in St. Petersburg. Khamid Vladimirovich passes on his boundless experience to the younger generation. In 1996, he began teaching drawing at the painting faculty, since 2012 - associate professor of the drawing department, and since 2014 - head of the personal training workshop of easel painting at the painting faculty of the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repin (now the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts named after Ilya Repin).