In September, London will host an exhibition of works by Alexander Volkov
ARTinvestment.RU   03 сентября 2012

Exhibition Volkov "Sands and silk" will be held at the London office of the auction house Christie's, from 5 to 21 September. Will feature 50 works from various private collections, covering the early stage of the artist's work

auction house Christie's, London,
5-21 September 2012

Alexander Volkov Source: Press Release Christie's

from 5 to 21 September in the London office of the auction house Christie's held-for-profit personal exhibition of Alexander Volkov (1886-1957) under the name" Alexander Volkov: The Sands and silk. " Exhibits will be 50 works from various private collections, covering the early stage of the artist. The exhibition will be supported by Oracle Capital Group - the company that sponsored the last in 2010 in the London landmark the exhibition" Treasures of Kazakhstan », bringing together masterpieces of Kazakh and Russian art of XX century from the collection of the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasteyev.

Alexander Volkov is one of the most famous Russian artists of the early XX century. Due to the fact that the artist was born in present Fergana (Uzbekistan), his art was a reflection of the rapidly changing conditions of daily life in Central Asia in the first half of the XX century, when it came under the control of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet government. Wolves free to experiment with different styles of painting: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism and Futurism, but has never been entirely immune to any of them. Combining Western art styles with eastern techniques of miniature painting and traditional folk art, Wolves tried to capture a way of life in Central Asia, to convey in his works distinctive melodies and colors of the East, always fascinates travelers for centuries.

exhibition in London will be the first solo exhibition of works by Volkov outside Russia and the CIS countries. Will be presented to the audience landscape studies, a student of the Kiev School of Art, Alexander Volkov wrote in the open air during the summer expedition to Turkestan. In addition, the exhibition will see the work of the 1930s, created before Socialist Realism became the official style of Soviet propaganda. Title of the exhibition refers to the Turkestan - a strategically important region of Central Asia, which has been the subject of territorial disputes, the so-called "Great Game" between the British and Russian empires. Artist in the early years occupied landscapes and city life of Turkestan, whose prosperity was closely linked to the production of silk. The concept of "sand" in addition to the desert climate of these areas is equally refers to the art and technique of Volkov he often mixed pigment with sand to create texture, combined with the smallest grain of multiple thin layers of paint and varnish blurred to create subtle gradations of color.

Alexander Volkov Caravan Source: Press Release Christie's

Alexander Volkov Pieta Source: Press Release Christie's

exhibition can be divided into three related to each other part. The first consists of the earliest works Volkov performed under the influence of an outstanding Russian symbolist . Wolves went to study in Kiev, partly because eager to study in detail the frescoes Vrubel Cyril's Church. Upon return to Uzbekistan influenced by the work of the artist Vrubel weakened, but Wolves still stuck to his judgments about what art is inseparable from everyday life. However, frescoes Volkova local mosques are preserved only in the numerous sketches and have never been implemented.

The second part of the exhibition is devoted to the work of Volkov, made in kubofuturisticheskom style. The artist shared songs on the series of triangles, obtained very dynamic work, which captured motion, heard the sound of passing caravan, fairground vanity or a dance rhythm. Just at that time was created the painting "Pomegranate Teahouse" (a collection of TG), for which Volkov was awarded the title of "Master Pomegranate tea house».

The third part of the exhibition consists of works created after Volkov "Pomegranate tea house." The artist began to lean toward realism, but his paintings are still losing musicality. Wolves looking for more and more new ways of depicting the rapidly changing lifestyle of the people of Central Asia. On his return to Tashkent artist witnessed the power shift - by 1920 all Turkestan region was under the control of councils. Under Soviet rule, a campaign for the settlement in the area historically nomadic people, and the local population was forced to change their old religious traditions.

first aired in 1923 in Moscow of Volkova were appreciated leading artists and critics. However, in the 1930s, during the emergence of socialist realism, the artist's works have been attributed to the formalism and are prohibited for public display. For years, they were hidden in museum storerooms, and in 1967, finally, have been shown in the second solo exhibition in Moscow Volkova.

exhibition "Alexander Volkov: Sands and silk" will be the basis for in-depth study of the artist's early. Christie's hopes that this exhibition will draw attention to the works of Alexander Volkov - an artist who certainly deserves it, and generally to the art of the avant-garde of the Turkistan early XX century.

Source : Press Release Christie's