 |
Oleg Timchenko | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oleg Timchenko 1957 |
| Nationality | Georgian |
| Education | Tbilisi Academy of Fine Arts |
| Notable work | “Ophelia” 1996 [1] |
| Movement | Contemporary Georgian |
Oleg Timchenko is a Tbilisi-based contemporary painter and founder of the "10th Floor Group". He was born in Old Tbilisi and studied painting at the Tbilisi Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1917, shortly after the Russian Revolution, the family of Oleg Timchenko's mother fled to Georgia to escape repressions due to the noble origins of their family.
The artist's grandfather was the painter Evgenyi Gulitskii. Gulitskii was a businessman aiding the first Russian aviators and various progressive technologically advanced projects.
Oleg Timchenko's father, Ivan Timchenko, was also a painter. Originally from Vitebsk, Belarus, Ivan Timchenko was working in Caucasus, where he met Oleg's mother.
Timchenko's brother, Konstantine, worked in a royal chancellery of the Emperor Nicholas II.[ citation needed ]
Oleg Timchenko's ancestors migrated to Georgia from St Petersburg and Vitebsk. For this reason "migration" is the artist’s fate determined by physical resettlement of his ancestors and embodied in his art. His paintings are imitation of "migration" to various countries, epochs, space and cultural layers, through his personal or genetic memory.
From 1987–1991, Oleg worked as a painter in the Marjanishvili Theater. During this time, Timchenko and his friends created the theater group called "10th Floor Group", which was composed of Georgian Happening artists.
Several Years later he established another artist group called "Marjanishvili".
His early works of the 1980s are noted with an ascetic expressionism and were gradually replaced by firework expression determined by intensity of color and stroke. Timchenko follows these two trends from the very beginning, but with time the margin between them becomes more obvious.
Migration plays a part in the Timchenko’s work representing various countries, epochs, space and cultural layers, through his personal or genetic memory.
In general, Timchenko is interested in characters – whether it is Ophelia, the Sphinx, Infantas, Pontius Pilate, or a dwarf, – and is said to be an empathetic participant of the story rather than a distant story-teller. He makes his characters and attributes in the images of people, animals, toys, plants, and objects that eventually turn into the models of his art and then he makes up new stories about each of them.
He has been considered a “transformer” artist whose art is a means of transformation. Timchenko's works often create a whole set of contrasting characters – sad angels, tragic dancing gnomes, wonder-struck forest ghosts with childish and non-childish expressions, often decorated with roses, precious stones, and jewelry. Timchenko often employs invention in this process of transformation: Infantas make friends with “dolls”, princes with leopards, Ali Baba with a crane, a toy horse with a childish and naïve expression gallops from one picture to another.
Perhaps his most noted work, "Ophelia" (1996) was born from the idea of creating a projection in waters. The themes surrounding Ophelia have a close link to all of Timchenko's work. For him she embodies the paradox of "beauty" and "transitoriness". Timchenko: "I paint neither trees nor leaves. I paint the wind touching the leaves" — in this case the water touching Ophelia.
Timchenko realized a more literal version of this idea in 1998 in Prague, where he installed a projector at the Charles Bridge and a canvas of 8 x 3 metres beneath the surface of the Vltava river. After a subsequent exhibition in Bratislava, he installed a projector over an aquarium of the original size of the painting 1999 in Paris.
Oleg Timchenko is a “reactionary” artist and his reaction is compassion. He loves the world, is interested in and suffers from the “pain” of the latter. His personal feelings are transformed into eternal topics. He touches on the themes involving a drama, strong emotions: love, death, beauty, psycho-somatic difference, risk, fear, pain. He is a bit grotesque, expressive, expressly childish, but not naïve. He rather has a nostalgic approach of an adult toward childhood, having a desire to play and a priority to detect beauty in every happening.
Expression was there from the very start – as early as in the "tenth floor" period. However, in the beginning the dramatic tension was not so permeated with beauty. This occurred later, i.e. one vision was enriched with another. The ascetic expressionism of the 1980s was gradually replaced by fireworkish expression determined by intensity of color and stroke. The effect of "firework," i.e. processing of the surface of the picture with paint, creates the effect of 'explosion," "pulsation" of a color and gives the picture vibrating visual impression creating illusion of a celebration and fairy tale. The firework-like style, sometimes with a touch of "kitsch," and minimalism of the style – the artist follows these two trends from the very beginning, but with time the margin between them becomes more obvious. The topic of the picture itself dictates to the painter the style which is sometimes realistic and surface patterned, and sometimes so poster-like and generalized that the image can be presented as a sign or symbol. That is, the "reality is replaced by the signs of reality." As a result of such generalization, the symbol separated from the basic reality, acquires new meaning. Therefore, in Oleg Timchenko's paintings ordinary items, objects or characters maintaining their historic or cultural context, simultaneously become inhabitants of a new hyper-real world created by the painter. At the same time this world contains continuous surprises.
Through each new series of pictures the artist extends the "territory" of his works and expands the "map" of his world. The figure tied to the flying crane’s leg from the series of Ali Baba’s journey is the symbol of the artist himself who shares with us his impressions of this "journey" through his works.
The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national identity and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This strong sense of national identity has helped to preserve Georgian distinctiveness despite repeated periods of foreign occupation.
Nikoláy Aslánovich Pirosmanashvíli or Niko Pirosmani, simply referred to as Nikala, was a Georgian painter who posthumously rose to prominence. Relatively poor for most of his life, he worked a variety of ordinary jobs. His rustic, everyday scenes are celebrated today for their depiction of the Georgia of Pirosmani's lifetime, and he has become one of the country's most beloved artistic figures.
Elene Akhvlediani was a 20th-century Georgian painter, graphic artist, and theater decorator. Akhvlediani is famous for her depictions of Georgian towns, for her illustrations for the works of Ilia Chavchavadze and Vazha-Pshavela, and for designing plays in the Marjanishvili Theater in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Lado Gudiashvili was a Georgian artist of the 20th century.
Sergo Kobuladze was a Soviet and Georgian painter and illustrator. He was a rector of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (1952-1959)
Levan Lagidze (Georgian: ლევან ლაღიძე; is a prominent Georgian painter.
Contemporary Greek art is defined as the art produced by Greek artists after World War II.
Guram Dolenjashvili is a Georgian painter often working in a monochrome technique. He is a Meritorious Artist of Georgia and an honorary member of Russian Academy of Arts.
Davit Kakabadze was a leading Georgian avant-garde painter, graphic artist and scenic designer. A multi-talent, he was also an art scholar and innovator in the field of cinematography as well as an amateur photographer. Kakabadze's works are notable for combining innovative interpretation of European "Leftist" art with Georgian national traditions, on which he was an expert.
Mamuka Japharidze is an artist from the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. He is especially known for representing Georgia in the 48th Venice Biennale. He currently lives in Tbilisi and produces his art there.
Nana Meskhidze, was an artist of Georgia. She participated in many exhibitions.
Gayane Khachaturian was a Georgian-Armenian painter and graphic artist.
Robert Kondakhsazov ; was Georgian-born artist, writer and philosopher, Honored Artist of Georgia.
Stepan Veranian is an Armenian postmodern artist.
Giorgi Kukhalashvili is a Georgian painter.
Levan Tsutskiridze was a Georgian monumentalist artist, illustrator, and painter of frescoes in the Sioni Cathedral, Tbilisi.
Georgy Georgevich Totibadze, also known as Gogi Totibadze, is a Russian and Georgian painter and illustrator.
Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is a private art museum located on the Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia (country). The construction broke ground in 2013 and is the only building in Georgia built purposely to house art exhibitions. The museum official opening was held on September 26, 2018, while it opened to the public on October 2, 2018. The museum houses over 3500 artworks, created by over 80 artists during the last 70 years. The museum exhibits private art collection of the family of Dr. George (Gia) Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardadze, founders of Magticom, the largest telecommunications company in Georgia.
Alexandre Bandzeladze was a Georgian and Soviet modern artist who was notable as a painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. He was made an Honored Artist of Georgia (1965) and awarded the State Prize of Georgia (1993).
Karlo Kacharava was a Georgian artist, poet, essayist and art critic born in Samtredia. In 1986 he graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts and from 1986 to his death in 1994 he worked at the Giorgi Chubinashvili Institute of Art History. Through his writing for publications such as "Literature and Art," for which he was also an editor, Kacharava acted as a bridge between the Georgian artists of his generation and the Western literary and art worlds. Although he was the leader and theorist of the "Archivarius" and "X Floor" group of artists, he did not have a solo exhibition until 1994, organized posthumously at the National Gallery, Tbilisi. In 1997 he was the first researcher to be posthumously awarded the Giorgi Chubinashvili State Prize for his contribution to Georgian art history.