Chianciano Art Museum
Critical Analysis Artist: Alexander Telin Art Critic: Karen Lappon
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
Critical Analysis Artist: Alexander Telin Art Critic: Karen Lappon
The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display. Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt. The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504
Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
The Critic Karen Lappon, born in Santander, Spain, is an Italian art critic and essay writer who operates in London, UK. Although an expert on the Italian Renaissance period, Lappon is also great admirer of contemporary art. Karen studied at the “I Liceo Artistico in Via Ripetta” and at the “La Sapienza” University in Rome. A book of great interest curated by Karen is the “2nd Millenium”, the publication of an important exhibition at the Lord Leighton Museum, in which the talent and art of the prominent painter, Frances Turner - selected 5 times in a row for the BP Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London - is highlighted. This artist has been spotted and appreciated by another great critic, Normal Searle, that wrote an article in the Evening Standard on one of Frances’ paintings. “Vita e Opere di Antonio Sbrana” is a publication in which Lappon ties the activity of Sbrana and his influences on the “Macchiaioli” of the 19th century, like Natali and Fattori. A publication that illustrates the continuity of this movement and how it is still present in Italy today. Besides being a consultant for the Chianciano Museum of Art, Karen Lappon is part of the Board that selects artists for the Biennale, a difficult task that she has undertaken since 2009, along with other curators, to choose 100 artists out of 2000 applicants that will be part of the Chianciano Biennale. Karen is part of the jury of the London Biennale where 120 artists, selected from 40 different countries participate, and has been chosen by the organisers to accompany the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea during the opening of the biennale.
“Bathing of Maltese Horse” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
The Artist Born in Moscow in 1966 to esteemed genre painter and academic Vladimir Telin, Alexander was immersed in art 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. 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 Renaissance to Post-Impressionism and from Ancient Egyptian murals to the Moscow school, with his intrinsic creativity to create a unique and stimulating style of representing the world. Telin’s remarkable talent led him to acclaim almost immediately after post-graduation, and even before. In 1987 Telin participated in the main exhibitions of the Moscow Union of Artists, of which he became a member from 1992, and the Moscow Society of Painters. Following various personal exhibitions of his paintings in Russia’s most elite circles, Telin’s insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to branch out into art-directing for cinema from 2006. As with his painting, Telin excelled in this new media, working on a plethora of films, including the Moscow International Film Festival 2013. Since this foray, cinema and painting have always 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 2015 Chianciano Biennale. But Telin has found a particular affinity with the islands of Malta, admiring the respectful harmony of man and nature embodied by its 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 two prizes in the 2015 London Art Biennale. 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 arrange of artistic traditions with his own distinct artistic flair.
“Child Portrait, Oscar Wilde” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
The Critique
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. 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
“With Angel” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
“Winter Garden” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
“Night Contrabass” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
“Overfall” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
“Friday Evening” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
“Sun Ball” oil on canvas by Alexander Telin
International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org