IVANOVSKY Ivan Vasilievich

March 8, 1905 (Alexandrov, Vladimir province) — March 26, 1980 (Moscow)

Painter, graphic artist

Ivan Ivanovsky studied at the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS) — the Higher Art Technical Institute (VKhUTEIN) under the guidance of S. V. Gerasimov and D. P. Shterenberg in 1925–1930 in Moscow. He studied with V. S. Alfeevsky, V. G. Tyagunov and M. L. Gurevich in the same year.

Ivanovsky lived in Moscow. In 1928 he exposed his works at the 4th exhibition of the Society of Easel Artists (OST); in the same year he joined the Society. In 1930 Ivanovsky took part in the exhibition of painting by the VKhUTEIN graduates; he showed his painting Laundresses, which caused a lot of critical press comments. In 1931, when the OST had broken up, Ivanovsky joined the society Izobrigada (“Group of art workers”).

In early 1930s Ivanovsky together with G. Tyagunov, M. L. Gurevich and A. I. Igumnov founded the art group TIGI (Tyagunov-Ivanovsky-Gurevich-Igumnov); the group traveled to the Chiatura manganese mines in Georgia, then to the Kuzbass (Kuznetsk Basin) and the Arctic. He drew a series of watercolors Chiatura miners. He showed his works created during his trips at the exhibitions of works of artists, sent of a mission to the regions of the industrial building and collective farms (1931 and 1932, Moscow).

Ivanovsky participated in the exhibition Socialist Construction in Soviet Art (1930/1931, Moscow), the exhibition of young artists (1931, Moscow), the exhibition Artists of the RSFSR for 15 years (1932–1933, Leningrad; 1933–1934, Moscow), the traveling exhibition of painting and drawing by Moscow artists in Kharkov. He also took part in many exhibitions of Soviet art abroad, in particular in the exhibition Graphics and book art in the USSR (1929, Amsterdam), the Artistic and handicraft exhibition of the USSR (1929, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit), the exhibition of Russian art (1929, Winterthur), the exhibition of the Soviet graphics and book art (1930, London, Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool), and the exhibition of Soviet art (1930,  Berlin; 1932, Königsberg).

In early 1930s Ivanovsky was accused of formalism.
Since 1932 the artist was a member of Moscow Regional Union of Soviet Artists (MOSSKh).