Monday, 07 November 201110:00
Enchanted by Georgia
Written bySteve Doherty
Two of the artists painting a modeled posing in a field
On Saturday October 29th, 2011, an exhibition of Russian realist painting entitled“Enchanted by Georgia”opened at theGeorgianNationalMuseumin Sighnaghi, Georgia. The show features work by three artists, all graduates from the same class of theSurikov Institute of Artin Moscow.For the past several years those artists have come together for a few months at a time to live and paint in the village of Sighnaghi in eastern Georgia. Reported by Barry O’Keefe.
Sketching on location
During these yearly workshops,Ivan Kugach,Jonathan WurdemanandIlya Yatsenkohave produced a large and diverse body of work. Together it provides a deep and sensitive portrait of the Georgian landscape and culture. The work ranges from panoramic views of the snow-covered caucuses to scenes of the vineyards at harvest time to religious sites and ceremonies, portraits and still lives of ornately arranged Georgian pottery, carpets and native fruits.
“In the Vineyard,” by Ilya Yatsenko, 2010, oil
The artists' creative output from these few months each year is incredible. Not long ago, before the fall of the Soviet Union, such artists' retreats were much more common. The USSR's union of artists operated four "academic dachas" — campuses in the countryside where students, faculty and independent artists would come together, usually in the summer, to paint. Today, because of the breakup of the Soviet republics, only one of these dachas remains in operation and it is no longer the hive of activity and creative energy it once was. I spent a summer there myself painting and conducting an oral history project with Russian artists. Each artist I interviewed gave me the same account of neglect and growing financial strain.
“Bodbe Monastery,” by Ilya Yatsenko, 2011, oil
While the state system no longer supports Russian Realism as it once did, determined young artists like Wurdeman, Kugach and Yatsenko are taking matters into their own hands. They have created their own artists’ retreat and the results are simply beautiful. The opening at the GeorgianNationalMuseum had a fantastic turnout. The show was attended by many important business and political figures from inside and outside the country including the regional mayor, the US ambassador to Georgia, the Latvian ambassador, the wife of the Danish ambassador, the head of the World Bank for the Caucus region and many of the most powerful members of Georgia's wine industry. If through their continued efforts Wurdeman, Yatsenko and Kugach's work gains the attention it deserves, then the future is indeed bright for the wonderful old tradition of Russian Realism.