Gallery ARTSTORY
9 September @9 October. 2015
Moscow, center of contemporary art per., 14

Today in the gallery ARTSTORY opens the exhibition "Boris Markevich. I — graph", dedicated to the outstanding masters of book illustration and Akvareli@

"I — schedule. So, watercolor written by me on the race," — so during the life stated his credo Boris Markevich — one of those who at the turn of the 1950-60-х, made a real revolution in the graphic arts and book illustratie@

the exhibition includes about 300 works of Boris Markevich (1924-2002), was created throughout his life. The earliest presents watercolors are 1950-м years later graphics —; by the end of 1990-х. In addition to a wide chronological scope, the exhibition features a genre and thematic versatility. Everything here worked for artist: watercolors, covers for books, print composition, sketches, stamps, book illustrations to works Zoshchenko, Shukshin, Rasputin, Pushkin, Bulgakov and other Russian and foreign authors. Among them are the famous illustrations of the "Master and Margarita", as well as dozens of drawings to the stories of Mikhail Zoshchenko. Included in the exhibition and drawings "for yourself" — sketched like an afterthought, however, allowing a deeper understanding of the essence of the creative method of Boris Markevich@

He graduated from the Moscow art Institute named after V. I. Surikov. Early stage of the creative biography of the artist was entirely devoted to illustrations and the font, to be exact – the book. His first steps in art coincided with the beginning of the thaw — era of the emancipation of art, new forms and means of expression. Boris Markevich bravely broke stereotypes in the approach to the design of the book. He rejected prevailing at the time the principle of narrative illustration and proposed a different approach in the form of a living, moving, and vibrant picture with a pen or brush. Gone are the illustrations similar to easel paintings, reduced to the size of the book page. As the situation when the illustrations to literary works and book design were performed by different authors. Markevich saw the book as a solid object, in which all the elements of — from the font to the illustrations — was done with one hand. In the field of type design Markevitch broke right horizontal lines, changed the proportions of the characters, offering a sharp, barbed plastic new letter styles. Each book artist looking for your plastic key. During his life, Boris Markevich has illustrated and designed many books of foreign authors, Russian and Soviet literature such as Pushkin, Turgenev, Bulgakov, Hemingway, Ohenry, Dickens, Salinger, and dozens of children's knig@

SINCE the late 1950-х, the artist began to paint watercolors, which immediately attracted the attention of specialists — primarily innovative approach to a well-known technique. Watercolor Markevich features unusual depth, density and "picturesque". Both incarnations of the wizard @book & mdash watercolor — existed in parallel, flowing into one another, though often intersecting. His watercolor landscapes, still lifes and interiors are perceived as color Suite, combined philosophical contemplative-медитативным mood where the trademark was a mathematical consistency of all elements of tonal kompozizii@

Work 1960-80-х, devoid of any beauty. They differ restrained, monochrome, sometimes overtly dark colour and strong sculpture, the "thingness". Art historians believe that Markevich first joined the aesthetics of the "severe style" and watercolor techniques (before it masters of the "severe style" predominantly worked in easel painting). Homeliness earthiness and household plots, the scarcity of images of the interiors, the prose genre scenes revealed to the viewer a different, metaphysical hypostasis of the Russian space, his powerful epic nachalo@

IN 1976, Boris Markevich wife — artist Alevtina Vlasova — bought a house in the village of Glazunova the Tver region, where lived and worked for a quarter century. Glazunov landscapes related to 1990-м years, made in a new technique for the artist and-ля prima and combine expressive beginning with a delicate lyricism. Today among experts and collectors are especially popular series, where the author in the widely-prescribed flat brush Foundation includes the most simple, mundane objects and details in the technique of "tonal pointillism". These works are also created in Glazunova in 1990-е godi@

Watercolor painting is a passion and a leitmotif throughout the life of the artist. He immediately rejected the artist's imagination, consciously tying themselves to full-scale impressions: "I am Convinced that most fully allows the artist to Express the hard-restraint. Attempt to grasp the immensity in the works especially disastrous. So I prefer to write simple, familiar objects — and because I love all things created by human hands, and in order not to be distracted by the transition to a new, complex, unfamiliar".

To the retrospective of the famous Moscow artist-графика, honoured artist of Russia, member of-корреспондента the Russian Academy of Arts Boris Markevich gallery ARTSTORY published a collection of his illustrations — "8 stories" by Mikhail Sosenko@

this book has its own destiny and its own history, presented by the artist's son Yegor Markevich. "In 1970, Leningrad publishing house "Soviet Artist" suggested Markevich to do a collection of short stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko, and not in a publishing option, and in the one that will offer the artist. The selection of stories, number of illustrations, format, font, printing capabilities — everything was given at the discretion of hudojnika@

By September 1971, exactly on time, the work was finished and lay down on the Desk of the chief editor of the publishing house, the originals were signed in print. But at the last moment the order was given — now is unknown whether it was “the top” or Leningrad authorities once again be vigilant. Be that as it may, the originals were removed from production, a set of scattered, guide publishing punished "for the initiative"".

44 years Later the book is published in author's version of Boris Markevich@

Source: press-релиз gallery ARTSTORY