The Bond of Times — The Bond of Generations
I have a special attitude toward the artists of the Brest Region. For over 35 years, I have been connected to many of them through creative and friendly ties. I am pleased to recall, for instance, that I was the one who created the catalogue for Ivan Fetisov’s first anniversary exhibition, dedicated to his 50th birthday. That was back in the late 1960s! And in the mid-1990s, my album on the work of another remarkable Brest native — the brilliant landscape painter Petr Danelia — was published. Since then, I have written extensively about the artists of Brest, in the mass media, in encyclopedias, and in various printed publications both large and small.
Some of them are still my friends today; with many I maintain warm relations and follow the evolution of their work. I am sometimes saddened by their setbacks, but more often I rejoice in their successes on the national stage of Belarusian art. Among my companions with whom I have maintained long-standing creative contact, I am pleased to name Petr Danelia and Vladimir Romeyko, Mikhail Konkov and Lev Alimov, Yevgeny Shatokhin and Tamara Pavlyuchuk, Gennady Surma and Nikolai Kuzmich, Sergey Kazak and Leonty Dovbush. I also fondly remember my conversations with those artists who have passed away — Eduard Kufko, Vasily Shikin, Vasily Sobolevsky, Nikolai Churabo...
Five years ago, when I took part in compiling the album “Artists of Brest Region,” dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Brest Regional Organization of the Belarusian Union of Artists and the “Mastatstva” Art Center, I did not imagine I would soon participate again in preparing this second, revised and expanded edition of the album now before you. And this despite the well-known financial difficulties that our artistic culture currently faces. But once again, the people of Brest were fortunate! In my view, the so-called “artist and authorities” problem simply does not exist here. The executive authorities and all those responsible for the development of the arts understand the fundamental role of spiritual culture in society, and therefore always support creators of the beautiful. This understanding is felt in the practical support offered to the Union — in organizing regional and international exhibitions and plein airs, establishing galleries and museums, realizing major artistic projects aimed at shaping the aesthetic environment of urban and rural areas, and particularly in publishing visual art.
Of course, in recent years, significant changes have taken place in the lives of Brest Region’s artists: the regional organization of the Belarusian Union of Artists has grown both in number and in quality; artists have become more visible in the capital and abroad; and the range of professional themes and tasks has expanded — including more philosophical and conceptual explorations of the world.
And when you visit the exhibitions, you see: in the story of life that the artists tell, the most precious are those lines that speak with human relevance to the issues of our time. And those that suddenly, from afar, make our history piercingly present. Perhaps this is because, with imaginative power and emotional sensitivity, artists feel and understand the unbreakable bond of times and generations. The creativity of Brest artists is diverse and multifaceted in affirming the main aspirations that drive contemporary Belarusian art. Its essence lies in the search for new forms of expressive imagery appropriate to our challenging times, in the synthesis of tradition and innovation — the tradition rooted in centuries of artistic experience, and the innovation nourished by the artists’ living interest in the ideals of spiritual purity, harmony, and perfection, without which true art is unthinkable.
Now has come the time for a “dialogue” not only between the artist and the viewer, but — equally importantly — with the artist’s own self. A dialogue based on a profound question: who am I in this world, where do I come from, and where am I going? In other words, a kind of visual publicism is being replaced by a more intimate tone; expressive flamboyance gives way to a deeper and more refined confessional style; appeal and moralizing — to philosophical meditation. This trend can be seen in the works of V. Kufko, M. Konkov, V. Romeyko, S. Khoroshavtsev, O. Haidukovich, L. Rotko, N. Chernogolova, N. Maevsky, A. Khvisevich, A. Faley, M. Klimov, I. Krupski, and S. Cherenovich. As you can see, the artists are highly diverse — and this is natural. Everything changes: ways of life, ways of thinking. It is a natural desire to see oneself in a broader context than just one’s own biography. Perhaps here lies the key to understanding the creative psychology of Brest Region’s artists as a whole?
What do I wish for my dear colleagues? Of course — creative longevity. And faith in the fact that their work is as vital to society as air, as light, as that divine nectar which heals the human soul.
Boris KREPAK, Honored Worker of Arts of the Republic of Belarus, two-time laureate of the State Award “For Spiritual Revival,” Chairman of the Section for Art Criticism and Theory of the Belarusian Union of Artists.