Exhibition of works by Ivan Sorokin (1922-2004)

Exhibition of works by the People’s Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E. Repin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Ivan Vasilievich Sorokin (1922-2004) is dedicated to the centenary of his birth. The exposition includes about 60 works of different years from the family and private collections.

Ivan Sorokin is an outstanding master of the landscape, who had a broad view of art, who knew how to heartily, truthfully convey the original beauty of the Russian land, the spiritual fullness of each chosen landscape motif. The gift of a colorist, complete inner freedom, admiration for the beauty of the world around him are his high virtues. The emotionality of literally every stroke on the canvas is a characteristic sign of his author’s individuality. Refined taste, outstanding artistic abilities, a flight of inspiration, perfect craftsmanship gave birth to figurative structures, realistic and, in fact, in form, original, "Sorokin". His landscapes are deeply meaningful. They awaken good feelings, give aesthetic joy, remove the veil of dullness from the eyes.

The artist successfully developed the traditions of the Moscow school of painting with its culture of color and free manner of writing, being one of its most original and gifted followers. All his life he wrote only what fascinated him, touched his nerves. He worked freely, sincerely, as if opening a window for us into the boundless world of nature. “You need to write more often what you see with your inner eye. Nature needs to be loved and contemplated, to hear the beating of her heart, to absorb her breath, ”he bequeathed.

The soulfulness characteristic of his work is the fundamental, traditional quality of Russian art. The language of his painting has transformed over the years; from chiaroscuro modeling of the form, he went to a strong, sonorous color painting. Surprisingly, the psychological and poetic nature of the landscape was not lost. The thought grew stronger, the feeling of love for the native land intensified, which led to a figurative generalization, “philosophizing in painting”. “Nature is a mystery, and when you penetrate the mystery, it begins to turn out on canvas,” the master said.

I. V. Sorokin was born on May 21, 1922, on the day of St. John the Evangelist, in the village of Gavrilovsky, Moscow Region (former Ryazan Province). In 1939 he entered the Moscow Art School, from where he was drafted into the Red Army, graduated from an engineering school, and fought as part of an assault brigade on the 1st Baltic Front. Then he was recalled from the front line to the M. B. Grekov Studio of Military Artists, was on many fronts of the Great Patriotic War. In 1945-1951 he studied at the Moscow Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov. As a student of outstanding teachers Vasily Pochitalov and Sergei Gerasimov, Ivan Sorokin deeply learned the basics of a professional art school. But he did not repeat the teachers, but went his own way in creativity.

After graduating from the institute, he made creative trips along the Yenisei and Angara, together with the artist V. G. Stozharov, to the Crimea, to the virgin lands of Kazakhstan, to Arkhangelsk and Dagestan. Already in his early works, his powerful pictorial temperament manifested itself. In the 1960s, Sorokin naturally moved on to strong, bright, full-blooded-sounding color painting. An unforgettable impression was made on him by trips to Novgorod, Pskov, and Mordovia. He discovered the intense color of northern icon painting, the beauty of the wooden and white stone architecture of the North. During these years, he created plastically powerful paintings, solved by large color planes, and among them, landscapes are distinguished by special solemnity and grandeur, the organic part of which became the famous monuments of ancient Russian architecture: the Novgorod Kremlin, Kizhi, Pereslavl-Zalessky…

One of the author’s favorite plots was holidays, whether they were noisy bazaars in Borisoglebsk or festivities and fairs in Mordovia. In these genre scenes, a person is an inseparable part of the surrounding world, filled with air movements, all natural elements, and contrasts. He also constantly worked in the portrait genre. His heroes are distinguished by simplicity and lack of posture: they keep calm and with inner dignity.

In the 1970s, the artist actively turned to the Pushkin theme. The landscapes of Boldin, Mikhailovsky, Leningrad and its environs are deeply lyrical. The 1990s are the time of the author’s reflections on the fate of his generation, his country, active creative search for the master. He lived and worked for a long time in his beloved Pereslavl-Zalessky, the reserved Usolye. Saturated color and subtle solutions of light and air, clarity of form are the characteristic features of the landscapes of these years.

Ivan Sorokin was convinced that real painting, without resorting to lengthy plots, can convey everything. And he proved it in his own way. He believed that the purpose of art is to uplift the spirit of people. And he succeeded. He was given a long life. He lived it gratefully, fulfilling his destiny. The works of Ivan Sorokin enjoy well-deserved love, both in our country and far beyond its borders. They are represented in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, in many domestic and foreign museums and private collections.

The text was prepared on the basis of an article by art historian Yu. A. Bychkov.