Exhibition of Lev Shepelev (1937-2013)

January 31, 2017 at 16.00 in the halls of the Russian Academy of Arts (Prechistenka St., 21) an exhibition of works by the people’s artist of the Russian Federation, academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Lev Shepelev (1937-2013) opens.

The exhibition is dedicated to the 80th birthday of a remarkable artist, a great master of graphic art. The exhibition includes more than 50 works created in different periods of creativity.

Lev Viktorovich Shepelev was born on January 31, 1937 in Moscow. In 1961 he graduated from the Moscow State Art Institute. V.I. Surikova, Department of Graphics. His teachers were E. Kibrik, M. Matorin, and Yu. Reiner. Individual handwriting, his own artistic vision formed quite early. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Shepelev created a series of works devoted to Moscow, which today are perceived as documents of the era. Since that time, the theme of the city has been forever included in his creative interests. An urban artist, an urban landscape painter - this is how one can determine the genre in which the master most often worked.

His travels in Russia and abroad were a constant incentive for the creation of new works. In whatever country the artist was, he was able to capture in a generalized and concise form what impressed him the most. The beauty and grandeur of the cities of the Baltic states became the theme of many works. The series dedicated to Finland is remembered in a bright artistic language: its very nature with discreet, chilly beauty prompted the decision of sheets with a clearly structured composition, laconicism of the color system.

The artist writes, based on a direct full-scale impression, but over the years he moves away from the exact transmission of what he saw, formalizing his nature in his own way, rejecting the superfluous, secondary, looking for the most important thing.

L. Shepelev mainly worked in a rather rare and complex gouache technique, which is located in its color palette, density at the junction of painting and graphics, skillfully using the velvety softness of this material.

Petersburg motifs occupy a special place in the work of the artist. The master felt and was able to convey the rare poetic personality of this city. Lev Shepelev has his “own” Petersburg, it is a city of not only brilliant embankments and palaces, but also no less famous Petersburg courtyards, deaf firewalls, factory districts, the city of Fedor Dostoevsky. Based on the laws of the decorative plein air, the artist creates one of the most delicate lyrical works “In the alley of the Engineering Castle”. Winter refines the master’s color palette, offering him a variety of ash, graphite, pearl shades, so characteristic of the northern capital.

Moscow plots are also constantly present in the works of Shepelev. He is interested in the old streets of the city, which have still retained their individuality, historical monuments in combination with modern architecture.

In recent years, the master increasingly created reflection sheets, conveying various states of nature, filled with a special atmosphere of spirituality, thoughtfulness, inviting the viewer to stop and think about the transience of being.

The works of L. Shepelev of recent years: “Night falls on the Rhine”, “Castles of the Rhine”, “Sails in Ubori” are distinguished by “color magic”. They are filled with special entertainment, disposing to their leisurely contemplation.

The entire biography of L. V. Shepelev was associated with active pedagogical and social activities. Since 1961, for 40 years, he taught at the Moscow Art Theater. V.I. Surikova. From 1990 to 2001, he headed this institute as a rector. In 2002, he created the department "Art of Graphics" at Moscow State Pedagogical University named after S. G. Stroganov, whom he directed. He was elected academician-secretary of the Graphics Department of the Russian Academy of Arts, vice president of the Russian Academy of Arts for Education.

The art of Lev Viktorovich Shepelev is distinguished by brilliant craftsmanship, masterly mastery of complex graphic techniques, sophistication, laconicism and the picturesque expressiveness of the plastic system.

The exhibition is open on February 19, 2017.