Artist of the week. Eugene Rukhin
ARTinvestment.RU   24 февраля 2010

Investments in the work of one of the brightest representatives of the Moscow unofficial art

ARTinvestment.RU long explores the theme of promising investments in the creation of representatives of non-Soviet art: the site is already published articles on Vladimir Yankilevsky , Nicholas Vechtomov , Dmitry Krasnopevtsev and other . Today we will discuss Eugene Rukhin (1943-1976) - abstractionist, the master of assemblage,, the artist, whose name enters the first several postwar masters of unofficial art. About the only Leningrad who participated in the "Bulldozer Exhibition».

In his youth Rukhin planned to go in the footsteps of his father, a famous geologist, but suddenly discovered his talent of painting and plunged into an artistic medium. He began to attend lectures in LVPHU them. Mukhina, as well as to study (for reproduction) of the Western avant-garde creations. At the age of 20 years, the artist wrote a letter to the American pop artist James Rosenquist (James Rosenquist), who not only answered, but arrived two years later to visit. And in 1966 the work Rukhin went to New York for display in the prestigious Betty Parsons Gallery (Betty Parsons), which exhibited such artists as Jackson Pollock (Jackson Pollock), Barnett Newman (Barnett Newman), Mark Rothko (Mark Rothko ) and Robert Rauschenberg (Robert Rauschenberg).

young artist at the very beginning of his career has shown the courage and willingness to defend its independent artistic temperament. His early work "Wall" (1962) - defiantly antidekorativna: Rukhin depicted on the canvas wall of the usual entrance, with scratched on her stupid slogans, which can be found in any doorway. Even in the later period, when the artist painted mainly landscapes, he often used non-classical "coarse" materials: canvas, canvas negruntovanny. In the second half of 1960 the painter met with representatives of the Lianozovo. Huge influence on his work has Oscar Rabin , whom he often stayed, arriving in Moscow. Hence, perhaps, is this gloomy, gray-brown color rabinsky, who became one of the distinguishing features of aesthetics Rukhin. Another lianozovets, Vladimir Nemukhin , as many believe, has opened him to a collage.

turning point in the creative biography of the artist in 1968 became the first: it was then he began to create his assemblages, which were subsequently consolidated under the brand "classic Rukhin. With just did not use the artist: pieces of wood, locks, lace, fur-tree toys, lids on manholes, wrenches, trap ... More and more importance in the creation of Rukhin began to acquire the elements of antiquity - the icons, antique pieces of furniture - that essentially distinguishes his paintings from the works American pop art, to the followers who absented Leningrad artists. It should be noted that the work Rukhin - it is not reliefs, namely painting: the paint as it leaves Expressionists, passionately.

worth noting that Rukhin was unusually prolific artist: Contemporaries remembered that every two or three months, he brought to Moscow about 20-25 pictures. In both capitals, major buyers of his works were foreigners (like most of the informal artists). Said that the Leningrad Art Studio was a mandatory stop for every touring diplomat. Rukhin participated in many exhibitions of avant-garde art, and never missed an opportunity to send photos of their work to foreign curator. In 1974, he became one of the organizers of the famous "Bulldozer Exhibition", which wrote all the Western newspapers. Less than two years later he died tragically. Night in his studio, cluttered with combustible solvents and paint, there was a fire, the cause of which has not been reliably established. Artist suffocated in the smoke.

Most heritage Rukhin is abroad: in addition to work, bought by foreign visitors, this painting, which exported to the United States the artist's wife, who immigrated a few years after his death . His debut auction took place long ago - in 1989. The most expensive piece is a picture of his "No" (1975), 15 April 2008 has brought at Sotheby's in New York, 220 thousand dollars. Estimate of work, incidentally, was only 60-80 thousand. However, the price had remained the record, the majority of sales concentrated in the range up to 100 thousand dollars. In addition, following the sharp expansion proposal (at the auction MacDougall's once even held a solo auction Rukhin) at the auction are not uncommon and the result was "not sold". Obviously, at some point the market was artificially balance, but time will put everything in its place. According ARTinvestment.RU works Rukhin are very promising for collecting. This collectors and investors need to be attentive to the quality of work offered on the market (quality of work Rukhin often very "rough"), and try to make purchases without large overpayment. And more recently, to pay greater attention to the authenticity of works: Experienced collectors say that Rukhin steel forge.

In terms of mass public interest in creativity Eugene Rukhin has great undiscovered potential. The album has a collection of non-conformists Norton Dodge (the most famous foreign collections of unofficial art) work Rukhin adorns the cover. And in Russia, the artist was not yet any large-scale retrospective exhibitions, no significant monographs. Sooner or later all will be. So much remains to be acquainted with the work of Rukhin, and prices for his work after the exhibition is likely to grow significantly.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova, AI, and Vladimir Bogdanov, AI

Sources: ncca.ru , other-art.rsuh.ru , artinvestment.ru

P. S. The site ARTinvestment.RU can also read:
evening in memory of Evgeniya Rukhin in Russian Museum