Alexander Telin Post-Impressions of Life by Chianciano Art Museum

Alexander Telin Post-Impressions of Life

Alexander Telin

Contents 11

The Artist

‘The enrapturing harmony of the universe’ Karen Lappon, International Confederation of Art Critics

‘The language of ART’ Eugene Evtushenko, Nominee, Nobel Prize in Literature

‘Picturae de Profundis Animus’ Helen McFarlane, Alumnus, University of Oxford

‘Sublime shadows: gems of emotional splendor’ Elena Foschi, Art Historian

Artwork analysis: ‘Portrait of Pushkin’ Christopher Rosewood, International Confederation of Art Critics

List of Works

Alexander Telin

ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Telin has found the language by which the soul can truly comprehend the beauty and harmony of the universe.â&#x20AC;? Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics

Opposite: Moscow Windows or Dormitory, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2014

Alexander Telin

What can we do about this insipid life, As dead as walls of the rubber room? One could not win this eternal strife, The genius, of which we very much assume. But when our hands are bored We should not allow them idle, So boredom could not be released As well as our suicide will. Everyone would be himself an inspiration, Too busy to abominate, Too busy to slander and blandish And too busy to retaliate. You absorb the universe with eyes And forgive her for the imperfections, Just do not become too busy and too wise For you could not be anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s protection! Eugene Evtushenko 9

Alexander Telin

The Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea, Counciller Maighread Condon-Simmonds, and Roberto Gagliardi admiring Telinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work at the London Art Biennale, 2015

The Artist Born in Moscow in 1966 to esteemed genre painter and academic Vladimir Telin, Alexander was immersed in art and thought from an early age. The younger Telin learnt much about the importance of knowledge and strength of personality from his father, which has formed the basis of his world view and pervades his art to this very day. As an advocate of fine arts, Alexander’s mother, Anna Telina, was instrumental in the older Telin’s acceptance of his son’s pursuit of painting. With the support of his parents, Telin attended the Moscow Lycea of Fine Art until 1984, at which point he was accepted into the prestigious V. Surikov Fine Art Institute, Moscow, from which he graduated in 1990. Due to his academic rigour Telin has been able to amalgamate influences from throughout art history, from Renaisance to Post-Impressionism and from Ancient Egyptian murals to the Moscow school, with his intrinsic creativity and new elements to create a unique and stimulating style of representing the world around us. Telin’s remarkable talent led him to acclaim almost immediately post-graduation, and even before. In 1987 Telin participated in the main exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists and the Moscow Society of Painters, the former of which he became a member from 1992. Following various personal exhibitions of his paintings in Russia’s most elite circles, including the Russian State Parliament, Telin’s insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to branch out into art-directing for film from 2006.

Alexander Telin

Alexander Telin was selected from thousands of applicants for the 2015 Chianciano Biennale at the Chianciano Art Museum.

The Artist As with his painting, Telin excelled in this new media, working on a plethora of films, including the Moscow International Film Festival 2013 winner ‘ABC’. Since this foray, cinema and painting have lived in harmony in his life. Telin has travelled the world in search of knowledge and a diversity of audience dialogue with his work, believing in deeper contemplation over basic aesthetic appeal. Telin’s work has been shown in over three hundred exhibitions in the most distinguished artistic institutions around the world, including the Chianciano Biennale 2015 where his work was admired by the Strozzi princes. But Telin has found a particular affinity with the islands of Malta, admiring the majesty of the natural environment, and the respectful harmony of man and nature embodied by the communities. Accordingly Telin worked on a series of fifty Maltese paintings in collaboration with Maria El. from 2013 to 2015. Telin’s undeniable genius has not gone unrecognised, having been repeatedly awarded diplomas by the Russian Academy of Arts, the Russian Union of Artists, the Moscow Union of Artists, and the Moscow Association of Painters, as well as being awarded two prizes in the London Art Biennale 2015. A series of portraits of children, for which Telin was awarded a scholarship from the Russian Union of Artists, sums up Telin’s desire to ignite discussion around the contemporary social psyche through the melding of a range of artistic traditions with his own distinct artistic flair.

Alexander Telin

Critique

The enrapturing harmony of the universe Karen Lappon

International Confederation of Art Critics

Alexander Telin is a very talented Russian figurative expressionist painter who, as ‘enfant de la balle’, grew up in his father Vladimir Telin’s footsteps. His artwork is characterised by an incredibly vivid forcefulness that transpires through the way in which the compositions are constructed. The canvases are enriched by the details of his brushwork, throughout, in every part, almost like close ups into the stories he transposes. A very effective and enrapturing point of view that captures the viewer’s attention immediately. The allegoric symbolism and attention to detail remind us of the great Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli. Also, Telin’s use of colours is absolutely overwhelming. Analogous and complementary colours are used in such a way as to force the eye of the beholder to search and savour every detail. His sense for colour is so preponderant in his paintings that one is completely drawn into the harmony and emotional impact they exude. The highly finished manner of painting is reminiscent of Jan Bruegel.

Opposite: With Angel, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013

Alexander Telin

Critique

The enrapturing harmony of the universe There is a lot of study and research in Telin’s works. Notes of Russian Realism, Impressionism, Byzantine and Coptic iconography, the Dutch School, the Pre Raphaelites, all mingle together with his personal technique and interpretation of the world in the amazing tribute to life and beauty that is Alexander’s artwork. As Oscar Wilde, one of the subjects of Telin’s portraits, said: “Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” Alexander Telin has found the language by which the soul can truly comprehend the beauty and harmony of the universe. A complete and passionate artist that the world of contemporary art cannot but admire and number among its most representative ambassadors.

Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics

Opposite: Candle Night, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2013

Alexander Telin

Villa Rosa, Oil on canvas, 50Ń&#x2026;70cm, 2013

Alexander Telin

Details: Overfall, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013

Opposite: Overfall, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013 20

Alexander Telin

Detail: Oscar Wilde, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2004

Child Portrait: Oscar Wilde, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2004 23

Alexander Telin

Bathing of Maltese Horse, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013

Critique

The language of ART Eugene Evtushenko

Nominee, Nobel Prize in Literature

I dedicated this poem1 from the bottom of my heart to the artist Alexander Telin and his family, whose house I was lucky enough to visit in Malta. It is inspired by the emotion I experienced when I met his wife and many of his paintings. Fellini, whom I met once at the Moscow Film Festival, told me that meeting me was akin to experiencing this rare happy feeling of being reunited with a classmate. As years go by since that first encounter with Fellini, I increasingly appreciate his words, expressing one of the greatest human values and all the more precious, given that they were uttered at our first encounter. Alexander and I got on like a house on fire from the first moment we met. Our upbringings were similar. It is his father, Vladimir Telin, the USSR People’s Artist and author of profoundly professional genre paintings, who made him an artist. I became a poet as a result of my father, a geologist by profession, but also a poet, and a talented one, albeit non professional. In agreement, my stepbrothers and I decided to engrave his poetry on the granite of my father’s headstone – I believe, perhaps uncannily, it is reminiscent of Sasha Telin’s paintings in its romanticism. I believe we felt so close to each other, in spite of the age difference, precisely because of our miraculously preserved romanticism that failed to be destroyed even by such a monstrous historical cataclysm as our home country- the USSR underwent, sinking underwater like an Atlantis of our childhood.

Poem published on page 9

Alexander Telin

Mother and Son, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2013

Critique

The language of ART Together with it all the unforgettably terrifying events associated with the Stalinist terror, that has caused irreparable damage to the country’s gene pool, wiping out so much outstanding talent in all domains, and in science and art, also sank; yet, we have preserved the memory of our fathers, who taught us the professional skills of poetry, and also painting, but, most importantly, imbued in us the sense of conscience. It is this that enabled us to feel one another. Besides, I sensed something in Sasha’s paintings, which is missing in the contemporary society: the official teaching, from school lessons onwards, was of revolutionary romanticism, which turned out to be a utopia, the reality of the civil war being fratricide; I now feel from my poetic performances, that the best of youth – for whom “the book of life” was none of the books by Nikolai Ostrovskiy nor Dale Carnegie’s build-your-own career books – is nonetheless attracted to romanticism, which is natural to a young soul and not to the previous political utopia or the materialistic money fetishism. They are striving for a third way. This third way is the painting of Telin-son, who has preserved the best there was in his father, yet has already left his father’s traces in the future. Incidentally, I believe Sasha has absorbed a great deal of his father-artistic pedagogy – he is a great art theorist-improviser. One becomes engrossed when he talks about his paintings, and art in general. It is a blessing that perestroika, underestimated by so many people, at least has prevented our self-isolation and

Alexander Telin

Portrait of Young Lady, Oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2013

The language of ART enabled Sasha and his wife to work in Malta, where many large set movies are being filmed and, his family lives practically in two worlds at once, without being alienated from their homeland. I absolutely fell in love at first at first sight with his new painting and I even gave it a title “Children of the Sea”, and I have to give him credit for his rare ability to understand children. This canvas has fascinated me on an unprecedented scale with its combinations of colors, its idea and a sense of freedom of these children who are part of the oceans of the world, connecting all countries. I feel this work encompasses his dream that all future children will no longer be “caged children”, but citizens of humanity. I pray to God that this desire be fulfilled and that nobody ever plunges our children in a forced isolation in which our fathers and ourselves to some extent - have had to live in, and that the entire globe remains their childhood territory. I believe in the human mind and that it will not permit the Cold War, whose icy breath we still feel at times, to realize its potential. We have already paid too hefty a price in human lives lost in two world wars fighting for a better future for our children. And for this we live and work, don’t we, Sasha? And this is our romanticism, which we have preserved and will continue to do so, hopefully, forever. Eugene Evtushenko Nominee, Nobel Prize in literature

Alexander Telin

Puddle, Oil con canvas, 100x80cm, 1984

The Straw Hat, Oil con canvas, 70x90cm, 2013 Light of Golden Bay, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm, 2013

Alexander Telin

Night Bakers, Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 1986

Morning of Flower, Oil on canvas, 100x65cm, 2001

Alexander Telin

Details: Winter Garden, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 1995

Winter Garden, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 1995 35

Alexander Telin

Villa Guardamangia, Oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2015 Opposite: Menagerie II, Oil on canvas, 150x120cm, 1994

Alexander Telin

Critique

PICTURAE DE PROFUNDIS ANIMUS ‘Paintings from the Depths of the Soul’

Helen McFarlane

Alumnus, University of Oxford

Alexander Telin has designated his work as ‘Deep Pictoral Art’. No other term could so accurately describe the vast intelligence of thought and plethora of influences that feed into Telin’s artistic talent. The son of acclaimed painter Vladimir Telin, he has inherited an appreciation of both creativity and knowledge. Telin’s strong academic background allows him to infuse his work with art history, particularly impressionism, modernism, byzantine, but also with themes surrounding philosophy and analysis of the human psyche. This tapestry of influences which invites contemplation and dialogue through the highly skilled depiction of realistic scenes is what sets Telin’s work apart from both his contemporaries and his father. Telin’s heritage, both genetic and cultural, is reflected in his work. Particularly in his early work these influences are clear in Telin’s graceful handling of realism. But, these influences continue to enrich Telin’s work through his preference for work in the open air. Telin believes that the world, as the creation of God, should be lovingly explored in all it’s idiosyncratic detail. These religious beliefs link Telin to Byzantine art, as well as the Moscow School in the thought behind his art, rather than in style.

Opposite: Night Contrabass Player, Oil on canvas, 130x110cm, 2011 39

Alexander Telin

PICTURAE DE PROFUNDIS ANIMUS

Stylistically, Telin’s work is the rebellious love child of Van Gogh and Botticelli. There is a wistful elegance to his handling of the human figure and facial features, reminiscent of the Early Renaissance appreciation of the human form; Yet his handling of colour and oil paint erupts with the enigmatic freedom of the Post-Impressionists. These two aspects to Telin’s work entwine themselves most harmoniously in his scenes of everyday life. Telin is able to depict scenes of life which exude intense feeling and movement, yet are painted with a delicate cantor that soothes the eye of the beholder. This style is used to capture the modern world in all the same artistic splendour as the old masters applied to the world of our forefathers. Telin’s vision was first reflected in his series of child portraits, which remain some of his most fascinating works. Telin felt it important to capture the untainted spirit of the young child, before the corrupting influences of society take hold. At this

Critique

PICTURAE DE PROFUNDIS ANIMUS

stage of development, each individual is at it’s truest, in line with the psychoanalytic theory of the essential self. These portraits are also key examples of Telin’s adroit use of allegory and symbolism, clearest in the Child Portrait of Oscar Wilde. In this portrait the writer’s softly painted face is contrasted with Aubrey Vincent Beardsley’s graphic image of “Salome”. Wilde also holds a book with the words ‘De Profundis’, the title of a letter he wrote whilst in prison for homosexuality.These symbols show the disparity between the clarity of spirit and openness of the writer in childhood, and the intense, isolating, conflict between male and female forces in adulthood. Telin’s incredible artistic and intellectual talent is visible throughout his body of work, and is what makes him such an accomplished contemporary artist worthy of his numerous exhibitions and awards. Helen McFarlane Alumnus, University of Oxford

Below: Floral Elves, 1995

Alexander Telin

Above detail: Autumn Above the City, Oil on canvas, 130x110cm, 2014 Opposite: Autumn Above the City, Oil on canvas, 130x110cm, 2014

Alexander Telin

People. Goblets. Clouds, Oil on canvas, 40x120cm, 2014 Afterparty, Oil on canvas, 40x120cm, 2014

Alexander Telin

Sublime shadows: gems of emotional splendor Elena Foschi Art Historian

Sparkling and brilliant touches of paint vibrate on a vivid and perfectly balanced composition: Telin’s exquisite canvases prove an exceptional interpretation of the Post-Impressionistic movement, electrified by dynamic and resplendent strokes of oil paint and use of light that recall the Pointillist movement. A palpable atmosphere, in a sublime concert of landscapes and figures, enlightens the intensely dark backgrounds: Telin realises an unexpected ensemble of natural perception and human introspection. The subjects of Telin’s painting, gracefully solemn but never strictly austere, move in an extreme synchronicity with the world around them. Women in sumptuous antique dresses, men at work, or allegorical figures with all the attributes of mythological symbolism: Telin’s limitless imagination finds an unexpected balance between an accurate ancient scenery and an emphatic parallel reality. In numerous artworks, the artist replicates the same astonishing shades representing the sky and the ground, in an unison play of reference that creates fabulous reflections and shadows.

Opposite: Slipper, Oil on canvas, 70x50cm, 1989

Alexander Telin

Sublime shadows: gems of emotional splendor Nighttime, sunset and twilight become the favourite mise-en-scène of the Telin’s powerfully creative hand, that, as a modern Demiurge, outlines the profiles of the figures, bringing them out from the darkness. This use of colours deeply reflects an emotional state of the artist, his disenchanted vision of the universe and his tormented dialogue with modern times. Telin perfectly captures realistic scenes, rigorous details and delicate faces, albeit an overwhelming expressionistic composition as the final result on canvas. The graceful heritage and the fine personal technique grants the artist the freedom to focus on the empathy with the spectator’s subconscious and on the transposition of his soul through each brushstroke. In like manner, the incredibly wellrefined portraits bewitch the spectator with their vibrant likeness impregnated with psychological analysis. In his profound and eclectic artworks, Telin’s genius demonstrates a solid academic background combined with innate talent thus ensuring a strong admiration and prominence in the contemporary artistic scene. Elena Foschi Art Historian

Opposite: Menagerie I, Oil on canvas, 80x65cm, 1989

Alexander Telin

Friday Evening, Oil on canvas, 100x120cm, 2000 51

Alexander Telin

Detail: Little Husar Roman, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2002

Child portrait: Little Husar Roman, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2002

Alexander Telin

Child Portrait: Maximilian. Somewhere in a Far Away Galaxy Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2003

Child Portrait: Terracot East Lisa, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2003

Alexander Telin

Child portrait: Sergei. Catcher butterflies, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 1997 Opposite: Details of Child portrait: Serega, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2001

Alexander Telin

Child portrait: Masha and Bear, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2014

Child portrait: Misha. Little Dracula, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2014

Alexander Telin

Alexander Telin’s ‘Portrait of Pushkin’ is a wonderful piece of art in it’s simplicity and expressiveness. At first glance the structure reminds us of the typical Byzantine Iconography in which the subject is central to the canvas and almost flattened against the simple monochromatic background. Very few objects distract the eye from the overpowering protagonist of the painting, an almost burnt out candle, unlit, an elaborate inkwell in which Pushkin dips his quill and the sheet of paper in his hand. With these few, simple objects Telin tells us that Pushkin was a playwright, a novelist and a poet. In fact one of Russia’s finest and most intricate literary representatives of the Russian Romantic Era. At a closer look we can capture the romantic aspect of Pushkin in his style of clothing, in the long and bushy sideburns, in the ring worn around his right thumb, and in his wide blue eyes that look straight at the viewer with a warm, enveloping gaze. Telin captures the force juxtaposed with the finesse of this outstanding poet with a completely impressionistic style of brushwork. Wide strokes of colour are used to highlight the different shades of light that reflect from Pushkin’s white shirt, in total contrast with the bordeaux, loosely tied necktie. The predominant colour is blue. Blue background, blue eyes, blue engravings on the inkwell and blue shadows on the shirt. The cold hues of blue are in complete contrast with the warm shades of brown of the wooden table and copper objects on it, and with the warm tones of the subject’s complexion. A perfect composition in style and technique with a wonderfully expressive and emotionally enrapturing atmosphere. Two Alexanders meet in an artwork that highlights the greatness of each individual artist, merging their very souls together at the same time. Christopher Rosewood International Confederation of Art Critics

Portrait of Pushkin, Oil on canvas, 75x75cm, 1999

Alexander Telin

Sand Castle, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2015

Tattoo, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2014

Alexander Telin

Children and Fish, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2014 Opposite: Spring Flowers, Oil on canvas, 110x90cm, 1990

Alexander Telin

UFO At The Opera

Oil on canvas, 90x90cm, 2013

Alexander Telin

Between Sky and Earth, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm, 2013

Parachute, Oil on canvas, 80x80cm,

2013

Alexander Telin

Above: Aquarium Fish II, Oil on canvas,50x100cm, 2013 Opposite: Ferry Theatergoers, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm

Alexander Telin

Sun Ball, Oil on canvas, 120x100, 2015

List of Works Moscow Windows or Dormitory, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2014 With Angel, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013 Candle Night, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2013 Villa Rosa, Oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2013 Overfall, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013 Child Portrait: Oscar Wilde, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2004 Bathing of Maltese Horse, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 2013 Mother and Son, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2013 Portrait of Young Lady, Oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2013 Puddle, Oil con canvas, 100x80cm, 1984 The Straw Hat, Oil con canvas, 70x90cm, 2013 Light of Golden Bay, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm, 2013 Night Bakers, Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 1986 Morning of Flower, Oil on canvas, 100x65cm, 2001 Winter Garden, Oil on canvas, 120x100cm, 1995 Villa Guardamangia, Oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2015 Menagerie II, Oil on canvas, 150x120cm, 1994 Night Contrabass Player, Oil on canvas, 130x110cm, 2011 Autumn Above the City, Oil on canvas, 130x110cm, 2014 People. Goblets. Clouds, Oil on canvas, 40x120cm, 2014 Afterparty, Oil on canvas, 40x120cm, 2014 Slipper, Oil on canvas, 70x50cm, 1989 Menagerie I, Oil on canvas, 80x65cm, 1994 Friday Evening, Oil on canvas, 100x120cm, 2000

7 14 16 18 21 23 24 26 28 30 31 31 32 33 35 36 37 38 43 44 44 46 48 50

Alexander Telin

List of Works Child portrait: Little Husar Roman, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2002 Child portrait: Maximilian. Somewhere in a Far Away Galaxy, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2003 Child portrait: Terracot East Lisa, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2003 Child portrait: Sergei. Catcher butterflies, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 1997 Child portrait: Masha and Bear Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2014 Child portrait: Misha. Little Dracula, Oil on canvas, 90x70cm, 2014 Portrait of Pushkin, Oil on canvas, 75x75cm, 1999 Sand Castle, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2015 Tattoo, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2014 Spring Flowers, Oil on canvas, 110x90cm, 1990 Children and Fish, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm, 2014 UFO at the Opera, Oil on canvas, 90x90cm, 2013 Between Sky and Earth, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm, 2013 Parachute, Oil on canvas, 80x80cm, 2013 Aquarium fish II, Oil on canvas, 50x100cm, 2013 Ferry of Theatergoers, Oil on canvas, 70x90cm, 2013 Sun Ball, Oil on canvas, 120x100, 2015

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Edited and published by Confederation of Art Critics London, 2015

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Alexander Telin

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