"Lights, Shadows, Mirages" - an exhibition of paintings and graphics by Vladimir Lisunov

From April 27 to May 15, in the exhibition hall of the Artlot 24 online art auction on 32 Mokhovaya Street, the exhibition of non-conformist artist Vladimir Lisunov “Lights, Shadows, Mirages” will be held. The exhibition includes selected works by the artist - painting and graphics from private collections.

Vladimir Evgenievich Lisunov (1940-2000) is one of the brightest representatives of the art of “underground” Leningrad, whose outstanding personality and dramatic history create an attractive and frightening halo around his work.

Lisunov defined his style as “mystical symbolism”; Carried away by Nietzsche and Kafka, mythology, philosophy of Gnosticism, the artist felt the need to express thoughts, his faith and philosophy on canvas. Lisunov’s paintings are restless. In addition to a high technical level, they are original, expressive, deep, sincere and bold. Many of them have a sense of fatality, a foregone conclusion, partly due to the incredible colors, partly due to the realistic manner of the image and at the same time the feeling of blurry space. They immerse themselves in a fantasy world, vibrant and piercing.

The painting “Fire of the Moon” in 1980 is impressive with its mysticism: cosmic red, a lonely church, long shadows and a sense of distortion of space. While some of his works (Forest Visions 1995) remind you of the triptychs of Jerome Bosch or paintings by Peter Brueghel the Elder that transfer to another world, the others, for example, Otradnoye in 1998, seem to make a reference to Mark Chagall in composition and color solutions. In the 80s, Lisunov created paintings in a pointless style (“Crystal mirages”, “Mirror delirium of wanderings”); they frighten and excite, emotionally and ideologically filled, transfer to the incredible world experienced by the author.

Lisunov is perceived by contemporaries as “an integral part of Nevsky Prospekt 70s” (Lev Lurie). Bright and shocking, he was one of the cult characters in the Leningrad underground. The works of Vladimir Lisunov are in museum and private collections in Russia and abroad (in the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, in the Museum of Non-Conformist Art in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Fine Arts of Copenhagen, the Art Museum of Narva, etc.)

Vladimir Evgenievich Lisunov was born on March 21, 1940 in Leningrad, survived the blockade, and from childhood discovered a craving for drawing, poetry, and music. Having chosen painting as a matter of his life, he entered the Leningrad Academy of Arts, where Johansen, Smirnov, Kiparisov were his teachers. His first exhibition was held in 1965 at the Leningrad Institute of Textile and Light Industry named after S. M. Kirov. Exhibitions followed at the University of Tartu, Estonia, the Faculty of Journalism of St. Petersburg State University, Moscow University, the campus on Izmailovsky Prospekt, etc. Vladimir’s paintings, popular with young people, ran counter to the academic traditions of painting and Soviet ideology. From about 1968 to 1985, he was subjected to pressure from the authorities: his unofficial exhibitions in the workshop of V. A. Ovchinnikov were defeated by KGB officers who tore down paintings from the walls and spoiled them. Lisunov, according to his recollections, met this robbery with laughter, the more he intensified the irritation of the authorities. He was forbidden to participate in exhibitions. In 1975, during the exhibition of avant-garde art, Lisunov was kept in isolation at Liteiny, 4. While in prison, he made a sketch of The Fugitive, which became one of his most recognizable paintings. In 1984, Lisunov joined the association of artists "Island"; since 1985 he can again fully participate in exhibitions: in the Harbor (Lenexpo), a personal exhibition “Metamorphoses” in 1988, a collective exhibition in the Manege, etc. A tragic incident interrupts his plans: July 27, 2000 as a result multiple knife wounds Lisunov died in his apartment. The murder remained unsolved.

Exhibition of Vladimir Lisunov
“Lights, shadows, mirages”

April 27 - May 15, 2016
Mon - Sat 11.00-20.00, Sun 12.00-17.00

Free admission

Exhibition Hall "Artlot 24"
St. Petersburg, Mokhovaya St., 32