VLADIVOSTOK, September 13An exhibition of works by Russian emigrant artists “China in the works of artists of Russian diaspora” from the collection of Sergei and Irina Belyaev was presented by the Primorsky Art Gallery as part of the cultural program of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
The exhibition presents the work of 24 artists of the “eastern branch” of emigration, a total of 60 works in which Chinese paintings from the mid-20th century “come to life.” “Lake with a Pagoda” (1935) by Antonina Sungurova, “Shanghai” (mid-twentieth century) by Vladimir Beauregard (Bulgarsky), “Lake in Beijing” (1933) by Viktor Podgursky, “Portrait of a Chinese” (1939) by Ivan Gerasimov and others permeated with the unhurried rhythm of that time.
According to the director of the Primorsky Art Gallery Alena Datsenko, this project opens the not so well-known pages of Russian emigration of artists of the “eastern branch”.
«This exhibition is unique because it reveals names that are unknown to most (except for a narrow circle of specialists — ed.), although there were quite a lot of Russian artists in China: in different cities they opened art schools, taught , acted as stage designers for performances… And it was they who brought European culture to China in the last century,” Datsenko said.
She added that many contemporary Chinese artists, for example from Qingdao, where art and, in particular, watercolor are developed at a high level, have traditions of an artistic base with almost a hundred years of history, and do not forget the contribution made by Russian emigrant artists.
«Chinese artists of the older generation, teachers, note the importance of the appearance of Russian emigrant artists at the beginning of the 20th century, who laid the foundation and “brought” European art to China. And, according to many Chinese artists, this allowed them to develop and grow into great masters,” noted the agency’s interlocutor.
The exhibition “China in the works of artists of Russian diaspora” is organized jointly with the Heritage Foundation of Russian Abroad with the support of the state development corporation VEB.RF.
The VIII Eastern Economic Forum will take place on September 10-13, 2023 in Vladivostok on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU). – general information partner of the forum.
September 12, 10:30