Exhibition of works by Irina and Viktor Glukhov "In Search of Color and Form" at the Russian Academy of Arts

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of works by a creative tandem - academicians of the Russian Academy of Arts, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Viktor Alexandrovich Glukhov and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Irina Maksimovna Glukhova. The project continues the series of exhibitions of artistic dynasties in the halls of the Academy on Prechistenka and demonstrates paintings and graphic works, many of which have been created by the authors recently and presented to the public for the first time.

Viktor Glukhov is a graduate of the art and graphic faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute named after V.I. IN AND. Lenin, where his teachers in different years were V.P. Efanov, Yu.E. Vinogradov, K.M. Maksimov, V.A. Dreznina, A.P. Surovtsev, who made a significant contribution to the Soviet fine arts.

In the master’s painting, in his sketches, sketches, and drawings, the spiritually lyrical perception of the surrounding world is colored by a sense of romantic faith in goodness, in the transforming power of art. The artist is always sincere in his actions and dreams. He writes works that are connected with his sense of life, philosophical worldview. Being far from the conjuncture of demand and newfangled trends, Glukhov remains a faithful follower of the traditions of the Russian realistic art school, its uniqueness and color originality.

The artist has a broad creative outlook, for him painting is the comprehension of the harmony of the universe. With equal interest and enthusiasm, the master paints landscapes and still lifes, portraits and large-format plot compositions in which his inner world is open for dialogue with the viewer. Despite the modesty of the plot-substantive motifs, the simplicity and clarity of his paintings, the dramatic plot of the works is keenly felt in them.

The colors of the master’s palette are far from bravura sonority and variegation, they are rather drawn-out, require thoughtful, meaningful perception, as if echoing the artist’s pulse, his doubts, reasoning about good and evil, beauty and usefulness. In his canvases, the coloristic score determines both the depth of space and semantic plans, reflecting the sensual range of his nature.

A special part of the multifaceted creativity of V. Glukhov is the theme of childhood, echoes of his own childhood memories and today’s realities of life of his grandchildren and their peers. In these paintings, each detail has its own purpose, toys made of paper and cotton, wooden from the post-industrial era, which, as it were, mark milestones in history. These details, fragments, included in the context of the composition with the playing child, create a special environment when suddenly the past enters the present and is reflected in the future.

In each of his works, the artist seems to question himself and, at the same time, turns to us with a question, wanting to feel a direct response in the minds and hearts of his viewers. For him, the truth of life and the truth of art are far from the same thing. And this is also manifested by his romanticism and idealism. The author has many like-minded people, and each personal exhibition of the master adds new and loyal associates to their number.

The exhibition of Viktor Alekseevich and his muse and wife Irina Maksimovna brings new intonations into the creative image of these artists. Fate decreed that he met his future wife, being her teacher at Hudgraf. So a new dynasty was born - their sons Maxim and Alexander also devoted themselves to art.

Irina Glukhova has always longed for creative emancipation, which has become the guiding star of her work. Gradually, overcoming the attraction of nature became a special meaning of the search for one’s place in art. From natural realistic works, she moves on to an in-depth study of the theory of color and form, sees in painting as such a form of visualization of matter, the intrinsic value of colorful and musical dramaturgy.

The artist comprehends and reveals for herself the complex symphonic expressiveness of colors, the color structure built on gradations of tonal relationships, this gives her great freedom of emotional self-expression. Music of color extends from white to black, between which she sees a full-bodied color palette. And in this the author finds liberation from objective reality, the path to the world of fantasy and imagination.

The master creates a series of graphic and pictorial works, which are grouped into expositions according to the principle of sounding color combinations or contrasts. It is characterized by a sublime, abstract spirituality, it constructs its own special world, different from the one we are used to. Irina’s work is dominated by the counterpoint of the aesthetics of the non-objective created by her. Currently, the artist works a lot in watercolor. The graphic sheets are placed in the exposition of the halls in such a way that they resemble the author’s installations, giving her works variability and internal mobility.

The joint exhibition of two different in nature masters confirms the meaning of the law of the unity of opposites. Viktor and Irina Glukhov complement each other, impulsively influencing one another. Such a romantic utopia brings the spouses closer, moreover, makes them related in a syncretic, inexplicable way. They open up different aspects of reality for us, reveal its many-sided inconsistency and mystery.