Mikhail Turovsky: Animate Forces by Shapiro Projects

MIKHAIL TUROVSKY ANIMATE FORCES

MIKHAIL TUROVSKY ANIMATE FORCES at

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 10, 2017 EXHIBITION HOURS

10AM–6PM

ShapiroAuctions.com 506 East 74th St., New York 212-717-7500

“My work aims toward the exploration of human reality. The human condition manifests for me in the human body... Through its life and its fear of the cessation of life. I want also to convey another reality, the reality of the world around me – the forces of nature, the elements. These are not inanimate forces for me, and I approach them in the same way that I approach the human body. I want to deify the natural world.”

ne cannot talk about the luscious fruit, the sensuous nudes and the swaying, hypnotic landscapes of Mikhail Turovsky’s oeuvre without mentioning their predecessors along the chronology of his artistic output. However timeless the themes appear, these subjects could not have been approached with honesty by the artist before another, much more somber, cycle of work came to fruition.

The tumultuous years of Mikhail Turovsky’s childhood, coinciding with World War II and the invasion of Ukraine by German troops, would go on to have a profound and lasting effect on the artist. It was not until the 1980s, however, once he and his wife Sophia moved to the United States where he was under no obligation to prescribe to a particular visual doctrine, that Turovsky would have the opportunity to address the Great Patriotic War and the Holocaust. The images that had been preying on Turovsky’s mind for decades were now feverishly spilling out in a palette

Mikhail Turovsky (b. 1933)

of browns, blacks and greys. In his statement about the series Turovsky wrote: “I could not use color because in the process of creating these works I was surrounded by darkness. There was no sky, no sun, no green grass. Only complete oblivion.” These works would go on to be exhibited at the United Nations and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York, as well as in the National Art Museum of Ukraine. The project took an immense psychological and physical toll on the artist, who suffered a nearly fatal heart attack the day the last painting in the series was completed. But, as Turovsky put it “everybody wants to live,” and a new series of restorative, healing works focused on the universally recognized images of nudes, landscapes and still lifes emerged. This series of works shows a fervent embrace of color, perhaps equal in intensity to that which had led the artist to work feverishly “like a caged animal,” on the previous series in a gravely monochromatic palette.

Mikhail & Sophia Turovsky, photographed by Genya Turovskaya

No longer forced to ignore the past, Turovsky was freed to live in the present. His images, in paintings ranging in size from miniature to life-sized, show luxuriously textured surfaces that excite the senses and invite the viewer to engage in a visceral experience. After a series of exhibitions with the French art dealer Serge Lenczner, when his work gained a following in France, a French art critic very aptly dubbed Turovsky’s style “figurative abstraction.” With his figures devoid of details – be they images of loving mothers or close-ups of succulent fruit, one cannot help but notice the movement, both, of the brush and of the figure, which is at the foreground. Prismatic, faceted streaks of light dapple the landscapes in titillating shades of blue, yellow, green, and red. Undulating trees, breathing hills, and swaying chairs – everything is alive and in motion.

Ever since early childhood, when in 1949, at the age of sixteen Turovsky was awarded the grand prize at the All-Ukrainian exhibition in honor of Alexander Pushkin’s birth, and the young artist’s work hung alongside masterpieces by such luminaries of Russian art as Vrubel and Repin, Mikhail Turovsky’s works were recognized for their timeless quality. His paintings are once, of the moment, and fitting gracefully into the timeline of the art cannon’s greats. The artist’s work can now be found in museum collections all over the world, including the Tretyakov State Gallery in Moscow, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kiev, the Tel Aviv Art Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel and many others.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 “Holocaust” exhibition, the Center for Jewish History New York, N.Y., USA 2012 The National Arts Club. Exhibition “Paintings and Works on paper.” Sponsored by Russian American Foundation. 2011 Triptych Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine 2009 MEMENTO, “Holocaust” exhibition at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. New York, N.Y., USA

HOLOCAUST, Exhibition at the United Nations Organization, New York. N.Y. USA

2007-2011 Celia Guedj Gallery, Lyon, France 2006 Savannah College of Art and Design, Red Gallery; Savannah, GA, USA. Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA. 2005 Arles, Chapelle de St. Anne. “Tribute to Van Gogh.” Sponsored by Municipality of Arles, France. 2004 Adler Gallery, Paris, France. 2002 Europe Art, Geneva, Switzerland. 2001 Retrospective exhibition,1980-2000; The National Art Museum of Ukraine; Three part exhibition (“Holocaust,” "The End of the Great Utopia,” “Paintings,”) Kiev, Ukraine.

Palais des Expositions du Quay Bondy; Lyon, France; Sponsored by the Municipality of Lyon.

Palais Rihour; Lille, France; Sponsored by Mr. Pierre Mauroy.

The Interchurch Center; New York, NY, USA.

1989 Artco Gallery; San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“Holocaust” exhibition, Joseph Gallery, Hebrew Union College; New York, NY, USA; Sponsored by the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum.

Yad Vashem Memorial Art Museum; Jerusalem, Israel; Sponsored by the Yad Vashem Memorial and EL AL Airlines.

1975 Republican Exhibition Hall; Kiev, Ukraine; Sponsored by The Union of Creative Artists of the Ukraine.

The Exhibition Halls of The Union of Creative Artists of the Ukraine in Odessa, Lvov, and Donetsk, Ukraine. Traveling exhibitions in cities of the former Soviet Union.

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS The National Art Museum of Ukraine; Kiev, Ukraine.

1999 Maecenas Foundation Exhibition; Venice, Italy. In conjunction with Venice Biennale.

The State Tretyakov Gallery; Moscow, Russia.

1998 Najera Mundi Ars Gallery; Madrid, Spain.

The Museum of Ukrainian Art; New York, USA.

1997 Hotel SAS Radisson; Nice, France. 1996 Celia Guedj Gallery; Lyon, France. 1995 Zalman Gallery; New York, NY, USA. East Lake Gallery; New York, NY, USA. Artco Contemporain Gallery; Paris, France. 1994 City Hall, Brussels; Sponsored by Municipality of Brussels. Artco Contemporain Gallery; Paris, France. 1993 Danielle Gauthier Gallery; Deauville, France.

Appia Gallery; Grenoble, France.

1992 Artco Contemporain Gallery; Paris, France. 1991 Palais de Congres de Paris; Paris, France; Sponsored by Mr. Jean Tiberi.

1990 Palais de Congres de Paris; Paris, France; Sponsored by Mr. Jean Tiberi.

Gallery de Beaux Arts; Bordeaux, France; Sponsored by Mr. Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

Gallery Pont de la Machine; Geneva, Switzerland; Sponsored by the Municipality of Geneva.

PLM la Bataliere; Martinique; Sponsored by Mr. Emile Maurice, Consul General of Martinique.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiev, Ukraine. Albright College Freedman Gallery; Reading, PA Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; Cornell University; Ithaca, NY, USA. Hofstra University Museum; Hempstead, NY, USA. The Snite Museum; University of Notre Dame; Indiana, USA. Savannah College of Art and Design; Savannah,GA, USA. Ghetto Fighters Museum; Kibbutz Lohamei Haghetaot, Israel. Tel Aviv Art Museum; Tel Aviv, Israel Yad Vashem Memorial Art Museum; Jerusalem, Israel. Lvov Museum of Art; Lvov, Ukraine. Odessa Museum of Art; Odessa, Ukraine. Harkov Museum of Art; Harkov, Ukraine.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2012 “Artist Have Wings,” Forum, May 24-30. NYC, USA. 2011 “In Memoriam of Victims of the Holocaust,” Illustrations, Chicago, USA.

History of Ukrainian Culture, vol. 5, book 1, Naukova Dumka, Kiev, Ukraine.

1999 “Le obsessioni di Turovsky,” E.D.M., Il Gazzetino, July 28; Venice, Italy. Le Monde, June 14; Paris, France.

2010 Interview with Anna Sherman, Anticvar #9(56), September, Kiev Ukraine.

1998 “La vie au bout des doigts de Mikhail Turovsky,” Christine Rinaudo, Nice Matin, February 12; Nice, France.

“Gallery of Ukrainian art,” Victor Khomenko, Art in Ukraine #5-6, Kiev, Ukraine.

“Hidden freedom,” Oleg Seedor-Guibelinda, Antikvar #5(43), May, Kiev, Ukraine.

“Lenin in Poland,” Dmitro Gorbachev, Art Ukraine #3(16) May-June, Kiev, Ukraine.

2009 “By Brush and by Bow,” M. Nemirovsky, Forum, October 29, NYC, USA.

“Last Lesson,” Holocaust paintings in the Cathedral of Saint Joh the Divine, V. Orlov, V Novom Svete, October 23-29, Brooklyn, NY, USA.

“Mikhail Turovsky, Un Peintre Venu du Froid," Martine Dubois, La Libre Belgique, April 6; Brussels, Belgium.

1993 “Turovsky a Nice,” Frederick Altmann, Nice Matin, January 2; Nice France. 1991 Martine Broda, La Nouvelle Observateur, October 14; Paris, France.

“Turovsky, La Dissidence en Peinture,” Patrick Bertomeau, Bordeaux Matin, February 19; Bordeaux, France.

“Un Moderne Classicisme,” B. F., Courier Francais, March 1; Bordeaux, France. “Turovsky L’Histoire en Direct,” Art et Valeurs #23; France.

“Turovsky, Le Genie Qui Vient L’est,” Catherine Prelaz, La Suisse, November 8; Geneva, Switzerland.

“Turovsky Exhibition at UN,” Forum, January 29, NYC, USA.

“Holocaust” by Mikhail Turovsky, I Kozatsker, Novoye Russkoye Slovo, January 27, NYC, USA.

Interview with Vladimir Nuzov, CHAJKA, No. 18, September 16-30, NYC, USA.

“Mikhailo Turovsky (portrait-mosaic)” the National Art Museum magazine ”Muzeinij Provulok” No.1(12) Kiev. Ukraine

2005

Chelsea Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue (introductory essay by Serge Lenczner); NYC, USA.

1989 “Paintings by Turovsky,” Sergei Hollerbach, New Russian Word, March 30; New York, USA.

NOMI (Novy Mir Iskusstva 4.45.2005) “Large Bodies: Great Success” by Serge Hollerbach, St. Petersburg, Russia.

“Mikhail Turovsky. Landscapes of The Flesh Traversed by the Soul,” Serge Lenczner , Fine Art, Fall 2005, New York, USA. “Homage a Van Gogh,” Exhibition Catalogue, Arles, France.

1990 “Reinventer la Vie,” C.R., Lyon Matin, December 21; Lyon, France.

“Turovsky Un Great Ressuscite...,” Adrian Darmon, Dossier, November; France. “Turovsky a Paris: un Triumphe,” Art et Valeur #19; France.

1988 Conversations With Mikhail Turovsky,” Palmer Poroner, Art Speak, December; New York, USA. “A Passion to Create,” Douglas Martin, The New York Times, New York, USA.

AWARDS

2004 Mikhail Turovsky; Monograph text by Serge Lenczner; Preface by Gerard Xuriguera; Edicion Sauveur Attard; France.

2014 Russian-American “Artist of the Year.”

2003 Anthology of 20th Century Russian Satire and Humor: Aphorisms and Caricatures, Boris Krutier, Editor, Eksmo Publishing House; Moscow, Russia.

1991 Gold Medal of City of Lylle, France.

“Transcending Time, Turovsky Creates His Own Era,” Jamie Ellin Forbes, Fine Art Spring 2002, New York.

2001 “Quarterly Report: Mikhail Turovsky,” Natalia Romanova, Kiev Telegraph, June 11; Kiev, Ukraine.

“Utopian Road,” Elena Stogol, Afisha #11, June 13; Kiev, Ukraine.

2000 “Mikhail Turovsky: Interview,” Art Panorama, November; Kiev, Ukraine.

2013 Gold Medal of The National Academy of the Arts of Ukraine.

EDUCATION 1965–1968 Moscow Academy of Fine Art; Moscow, Russia. 1954–1960 Kiev Institute of Fine Art; Kiev, Ukraine. 1945–1952 Kiev School of Fine Art; Kiev, Ukraine. 1943–1945 Leningrad School of Fine Art; Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Cityscape, New York, 1995 oil on canvas 76.2 x 76.2 cm (30 x 30 in.)

Autumn Landscape, 2013 oil on canvas 59.1 x 59.1 cm (23 ¼ x 24 ¼ in.)

Landscape, 2013 oil on board 79 x 77.6 cm (31 x 30 Â½ in.)

Toledo, 1991 oil on canvas 81 x 99.6 cm (31 ¾ x 39 ⅛ in.)

Cityscape, 2008 oil on canvas 91.1 x 60.5 cm (36 x 23 ⅞ in.)

right:

Townscape with a Tree, 2005 oil on board 91.1 x 45.1 cm (35 ⅞ x 17 ¾ in.)

Cityscape, New York, 2006 oil on board 56.5 x 36.5 cm (22 ¼ x 14 ⅜ in.)

Toledo-1, New York, 1991 oil on canvas 100.3 x 100.3 cm (39 ½ x 39 ½ in.)

Garden in Toledo, New York, 1992 oil on canvas 100.4 x 100 cm (39 ½ x 39 ⅜ in.)

above:

opposite:

Landscape, Sunray in the Forest, 1993

Toledo-5, New York, 1992

oil on canvas board 60.8 x 60.8 cm (23 ⅞ x 23 ⅞ in.)

oil on canvas 101.3 x 81 cm (39 ⅜ x 31 ⅞ in.)

opposite:

above:

Still Life (Bottles and Potted Plant), 2012

Still Life in Blue, New York, 1999

oil on canvas board 35.9 x 27.9 cm (14 ⅛ x 11 in.)

oil on canvas 75.9 x 75.9 cm (29 ⅞ x 29 ⅞ in.)

Still Life (Apples, Pears, Pitcher), 2007 oil and paper mounted on board 121.9 x 50.8 cm (48 x 20 in.)

Still Life (4 Bottles), 1999 oil on canvas 60.6 x 51 cm (23 â&#x2026;&#x17E; x 20 in.)

Still Life with Bottles and Fish, New York, 2002 oil on canvas 76.6 x 76.6 cm (30 ⅛ x 30 ⅛ in.)

Still Life with Flowers, 2011 oil on canvas 76.2 x 76.2 cm (30 x 30 in.)

above:

Sunflower Suite Sunflower 4 (Universe), 2000

Sunflower Suite Sunflower 23, New York, 1995

oil on canvas 121.9 x 91 cm (48 x 35 ⅞ in.)

oil on canvas 65.4 x 65.4 cm (25¾ x 25¾ in.) opposite:

Still Life with Fish on a Chair, 2008 oil on paper mounted on board 126 x 91.8 cm (49 ⅝ x 36 ⅛ in.) 27

Three Chairs (TripTych), New York, 1999-2000 oil on canvas 139.4 x 91.1 cm (54 ⅞ x 35 ⅞ in.) 29

opposite page:

Landscape (Central Park), 2013 oil on canvas 60.3 x 50.8 cm (23 ⅞ x 20 in.)

right:

Spring Trees, 2010 oil on canvas 116.6 x 38.1 cm (45 ⅛ x 15 in.)

Winter, 2008 oil on board 80.5 x 100 cm (31 ¾ x 39 ⅜ in.)

above:

opposite page:

Autumn, 2009

Spring in Inwood, 2011

oil on canvas 101.6 x 95.6 cm (40 x 37 ⅝ in.)

oil on canvas 76.5 x 50.8 cm (30 ⅛ x 20 in.)

Landscape with Trees, New York, 2007 oil on canvas board 91.2 x 60.4 cm (35 ⅞ x 23 ¾ in.)

right:

Blue Landscape, 1998 oil on canvas 90.6 x 76 cm (35 ¾ x 29 ⅞ in.)

left:

Autumn in Park, New York, 2010 oil on wood 105.4 x 43.9 cm (41 ½ x 17 ¼ in.)

opposite:

Untitled Landscape, 2010 oil on canvas 152.4 x 116.9 cm (60 x 46 in.) 41

Spring in Central Park, New York, 1996 oil on canvas 76.5 x 76.5 cm (30 ⅛ x 30 ⅛ in.)

Winter in Central Park, 2014 oil on canvas 69.9 x 69.9 cm (27 ½ x 27 ½ in.)

Seated Woman in an Armchair, New York, 2002 oil on canvas 92.1 x 92.1 cm (36 ¼ x 36 ¼ in.)

Standing Nude, 2008 oil on canvas 121.6 x 101.6 cm (47 â&#x2026;&#x17E; x 40 in.) 46

Mother and Child, 2008 oil on board 100.7 x 100.7 cm (39 ⅝ x 39 ⅝ in.)

Mother and Child, 2006-2007 oil on board 126.5 x 63.3 cm (49 ¾ x 24 ⅞ in.)

opposite:

above:

Standing Nude, 2010

Awaking, New York, 2007

oil on board 67.7 x 49.5 cm (26 ⅝ x 19 ½ in.)

oil on canvas 90.8 x 75.6 cm (35 ¾ x 29 ⅞ in.)

Seated Nude, 2003 oil on board 122.2 x 122.2 cm (48 ⅛ x 48 ⅛ in.)

Seated Nude (Black), 2003 oil on board 103.9 x 122.3 cm (48 ⅛ x 40 ⅞ in.) 52

Nude, 2003 oil on board 122.3 x 112.7 cm (48 ⅛ x 44 ⅜ in.)

Seated Nude (Red), 2003 oil on board 122.3 x 122.3 cm (48⅛ x 48⅛ in.)

Adam and Eve, 2015 oil on board 67 x 67 cm (26 ⅜ x 26 ⅜ in.)

Nude in Red oil on paper laid on canvas 90.5 x 80.7 cm (35 ⅝ x 31 ¾ in.) 56