GRISHCHENKO Aleksey Vasilievich

March 17, 1883 (Krolewac, Chernihiv province) — January 29, 1977 (Vence, France)

Painter, graphic artist, art theorist

Aleksey Grishchenko took a great interest in art at the age of 17, under the impression of painting collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. In 1905 he studied in the studio of painter S. I. Svyatoslavsky in Kiev, in 1910–1911 — in the I. I. Mashkov’s and K.F. Yuon’s studios of painting and drawing in Moscow. At the same time, in 1905–1912, Grishchenko studied at the faculty of philology in St. Petersburg, Kiev and Moscow Universities.

In 1911 Grishchenko visited Paris, where he learned modern art movements. In 1912 and 1914 he traveled to the Russian ancient cities, where he studied fresco painting. In 1914 he made a trip to Italy.

In 1910 Grishchenko exposed his works at the exhibition of the New Society of Artists in St. Petersburg. In 1911 he participated in the exhibition of the society Moscow Salon; in 1912 — in the exhibition of the group Bubnovy Valet (“Jack of Diamonds”) in Moscow. In 1913 he exposed his works at the exhibition of modern painting; in 1913–1914 he took part in the exhibitions of the Union of Youth, in 1915 — in the exhibition of left trends in art.

In 1910s Grishchenko was known not only as a painter, but also as an author of sharp polemical reports and articles on art. He wrote such articles about Russian art as Russian painting in connection with the Byzantine and the West in the 13th — 20th centuries. Thoughts of the painter (1913), The group of artists “Bubnovy Valet” (1913), Russian icon as an art of painting (1917), Art crisis and modern painting (1917).

In 1917 the artist became a member of the society Mir Iskusstva (“World of Art”), and participated in the exhibition of the society in December 1917. In 1918 Grishchenko exposed his works at the exhibition of the society Svobodnoye Tvorchestvo (“Free Art”) in Moscow, in 1919 — at the exhibition of Modern painting and drawing in Petrograd. In 1919 Grishchenko together with A. V. Shevchenko organized the exhibition Colour-Dynamos and Tectonic Primitivism in Moscow, and published the catalogue of the exhibition with theoretical articles and manifesto in it.

In May 1917 Grishchenko joined the board of the Professional Union of Moscow painters, in 1918 — the Committee for Protection of Art and Historical Memorabilia. He also organized transportation from front-line area and rescue of the paintings by the Old Masters from princes Baryatinskys’ collection.

In 1920 Grishchenko immigrated and lived in Constantinople. In 1920–1922 he traveled a lot through Turkey and Greece; while travelling the artist had painted a lot of urban scenes, architectural landscapes and seascapes, which were published later in Paris. In 1922 he moved to France, till 1924 he lived in Paris, then he lived in Caen. In 1922 the personal exhibition of the artist Constantinople — Mystras was held in the gallery Marsan. The exhibition brought fame and commercial success to the artist in European art circles.

In 1922 Grishchenko took part in the First Russian Art exhibition in Van Diemen gallery in Berlin. Personal exhibitions of the artist were held in the galleries Dominique (1923), Percier (1924), Bing (1926), Drouet (1928–1930, 1933) in Paris. In 1928 he sent his works to the exhibition of the Modern French Art in Moscow.

In 1930s–1960s Grishchenko continued to work a lot and to participate in exhibitions. The retrospective exhibitions of the artist were held in Gothenburg (1937), Lvov (1937), Limoges (1943–1944), Paris (1945, 1947, 1957), Strasbourg (1952–1953, 1955), New York (1958, 1966), and Toronto (1977).

Aleksey Grishchenko was one of the most significant representatives of Cubo-Futurism and Primitivism in Russian art. His early works of 1909–1912 were painted under the influence of impressionism. Later the artist was interested in Russian icon, lubok (Russian popular print), Italian fresco painting, cubism and fauvism. In the end of 1910s Grishchenko developed his own recognizable style called Colour-Dynamos. He took a new approach to interaction with model, using basically expressionistic methods: the painter refused to pre-drawn sketch, when he worked on the picture, and constructed the form only by the laws of color.

Works by Aleksey Grishchenko are in many museum and private collections in Russia and abroad, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of New Art in Madrid, the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.