"Faces of Russia". Exhibition of works by Gennady Pravotorov

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of works by People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts GI Pravotorov "Faces of Russia". The exposition contains more than 150 medals, plaques, created by the author over the past 5 years, dedicated to the figures of Russian history.

Gennady Ivanovich Pravotorov is one of the leading contemporary sculptors. His art is deeply meaningful, addressed to the essential foundations of being. The artist’s works are characterized by a special expressiveness, high skill, plastic solutions free from clichés, symbolism of images, and a light, often impressionistic style of modeling.

G. I. Pravotorov was born in 1941. In 1968 he graduated from the Moscow Higher School of Industrial Art (former Stroganov), works in monumental and easel plastic forms, round sculpture, relief. Among the sculptor’s works are reliefs on bells for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Great Ascension Church in Moscow, and the Assumption Cathedral in Tobolsk. The master’s works are exhibited at major exhibitions in Russia and abroad, arousing wide audience interest, the attention of the professional community and, by right, occupying one of the central places among the works of contemporary medalists. His works are in the collections of leading museums in the country and abroad, and have been awarded prestigious professional awards.

The central place in the work of G.I. Pravotorov is medal art. “The field of the medal is a circle, and I was drawn into its orbit immediately after the completion of the Stroganovka and I am in this voluntary captivity to this day. The circle is after all infinity with endless possibilities of the creative range and, as the great Buonarroti said about a lump of stone, from which you can rescue any images that are born by the artist’s creative spirit, and in a small but capacious circle of a medal with its immeasurable orbits ", - the artist notes… The works of G.I. Pravotorov are devoted to a variety of topics: history and modernity, ecology, space, the harmony of man and nature. Over the years, the artist has created many classic round award and commemorative medals, various in topics and artistic solutions, a large number of plaques,different in plastic language and form. For replication alone, he has made more than 200 medals, which are in constant circulation.

In the 1980s, the artist turned to the theme of the heroic past of Russia, having completed the reliefs "Prophetic Bayan", "The first printer Ivan Fedorov", "Andrei Rublev", a relief based on "The Lay of Igor’s Regiment". In the most complicated plaque "For the Russian Land" in the technique of execution, he continued the best traditions of domestic small-scale plastic arts, coming from cast bronze icons, Orthodox folds and crosses. G. Pravotorov continued the theme of spiritual continuity in a series of medals and plaques "History of the Russian State" dedicated to outstanding personalities who brought glory to our Fatherland. For the 250th anniversary of the Imperial - Russian Academy of Arts G. Pravotorov performed a series of commemorative medals "Presidents of the Russian Academy of Arts".

The plots of works related to historical events become for the artist a prologue to a large theme, the discovery of important meanings that are embedded in an artistic image. Creating a new work, the sculptor invariably plunges into the vast historical material, makes many sketches, which form the final plastic and pictorial solution. The study of a large layer of national history associated with the development of Siberia required the work on a large series "Slaven grad Tobolsk", which included over 50 medals, a number of which will be presented at the exhibition. The rich local history material made it possible to highlight a wide range of historical events in this region, to present a gallery of outstanding people. Among the portrait images are the pioneer of the Siberian land Ermak Timofeevich, the governor of Tobolsk, historian and writer D.N.Bantysh-Kamensky, explorer of the Tobolsk North A. A. Dunin-Gorkavich, enlightener of Siberia, Metropolitan Philotheus, the first Russian generalissimo A. S. Shein, composer A. A. Alyabyev, scientist D. I. Mendeleev, artists V. G. Perov and V. I. Surikov, writer P. P. Ershov, artist and historian M. S. Znamensky, medals "The Tsar’s Family in Tobolsk", etc. The series became an artistic chronicle of Siberia.

The historical theme in the work of G. I. Pravotorov continues to develop. He created the medal cycle "Russian commanders", a kind of gallery of portraits of military leaders from Alexander Nevsky to Georgy Zhukov, commemorative medals "Minin and Pozharsky", "Battle of Kulikovo". This series was organically continued by works devoted to the history of spirituality and culture - the series "Poets and Writers of the Silver Age" and others.

The exhibition at the Russian Academy of Arts will also feature plaques on antique, biblical subjects. An inexhaustible variety of compositional solutions, plastic interpretations, figurative, emotional sound distinguishes these extensive series of works.

The material was prepared on the basis of an article by art critic Tatyana Boytsova.