Elena Volkova (painter)

Elena Andreevna Volkova (Russian: Елена Андреевна Волкова; 3 June 1915 – 8 October 2013)[1] was a Russian painter, born in Chuguyev.

Elena Volkova
Born
Elena Andreevna Volkova

(1915-06-03)June 3, 1915
DiedOctober 8, 2013(2013-10-08) (aged 98)
NationalityRussian
Known forArt
MovementNaïve art

Biography

edit

Elena Volkova was born in 1915 in the Russian Empire, Kharkov Governorate, Chuguyev (birthplace of Ilya Repin) from a modest family; her father was a swimming coach and her mother a peasant.

In 1934 Volkova began to work as assistant-projectionist for a mobile cinema. During the war she was affected[clarification needed] in an hospital; her husband died during the war. Without any artistic training, she began to paint at the beginning of the 1960s at the age of 45. She was quickly noticed by Vasyl Yermylov Kharkiv, founder of the Ukrainian avant-garde, who bought a number of her paintings. She was then noticed by Michael Alpatov, a famous Moscow art critic.

Sergei Tarabarov of the Gallery of Naive Art "Dar" (National Center for Contemporary Art of Moscow (NCCA)), said in 2000 that Elena Volkova was one of the most interesting naïve artist in Russia.[2] Volkova lived in Moscow.

Work

edit

Her naïve painting[3][4] represents all the natural, gorgeous and good things which make the happiness of simple people: animals, fruits, flowers, festive tables and nudes. Things round and full of life, as offerings to the ancient gods.

Exhibitions

edit
  • 1973 Omsk, first solo exhibition
  • 1990 Permanent collection of Gallery of Naïve Art (National Center for Contemporary Art of Moscow (NCCA))
  • 2001 Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Exhibition " Peace to everybody! "[1]
  • 2005 Tretyakov Gallery of Moscow, Retrospective [2]

References

edit
  1. ^ Умерла художница Елена Волкова, легенда наивного искусства. newsru.com (in Russian). 11 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. ^ http://www.ng.ru/style/2000-07-22/16_naive.html
  3. ^ Nathalia Brodskaia and Viorel Rau "Naive Art" ed. Parkstone International ISBN 978-1-85995-674-8
  4. ^ Ксения Богемская "Советское наивное искусство" "The Soviet naïve art" ed.Интерроса ISBN 978-5-91105-018-4 p. 12, 16, 229, 324-325
edit