A solo show of the work of Ilya Yatsenko has just closed at the Tsiolovsky Loft Gallery in Kaluga oblast, Russia. After spending many years in Moscow, in 2011 Yatsenko moved to the rural countryside of Kaluga with his family, setting up a new home near the Optina monastery. He and the owner’s of Lazare Gallery were interviewed by the Kaluga-based magazine Жить Хорошо just after the show’s opening in February. A translated excerpt of the full article (in Russian) is below.

Ilya believes that the Moscow school of Painting, unfortunately, is now dying.

“I am trying to continue the tradition of Realism, which I began studying at the Surikov Institute; I’m working to attain the level of mastery of my teacher Zabelin. Russian Realism didn’t enter the history of art without purpose.”

In Ilya’s opinion, true Realism is much more than the gaudy sparkle of some painters. “Loud, confrontational color is only found indoors.” The artist believes that truth is an end unto itself, which can be found in color. Realism, in it’s profoundest sense, is the idea of the embodiment of the essence of a subject on a canvas. “If we are speaking about nature, if you lie in color or in tone, the whole work will become a falsehood.” […]

John Wurdeman, the owner of Lazare Gallery in America, made a special trip to be at Ilya’s opening. But his road to art was much longer than a flight from the US to Russia. The son of the future gallery owner studied at the Surikov Institute in Moscow, and for his graduation his parents organized a New York show of Russian painting, which was a stunning success. Afterwards, the Wurdemans sold their business in decorative prints at the peak of its popularity and opened Lazare Gallery. Over the past several years, in a beautiful corner of nature near Richmond, Virginia, they have collected approximately 1100 paintings from the Soviet and Russian Realist painters. Their collection takes advantage of a great demand among the collectors of the world who are determined to find the most significant pieces of the Russian school available.

“It’s wonderful to live in the midst of this beautiful collection of art,” says John Wurdeman with heartfelt emotion.

“The people come to visit Lazare Gallery to see the collection and acquire pieces are sincere admirers of Russian painting. We meed them at the airport and put them up in cottages near the gallery. Many of the Russian collectors who collect our paintings in previous years end up collecting a number of canvases.”

It’s possible that soon the Wurdemans’ gallery will collect a new piece by Ilya Yatsenko. A massive canvas depicting two mysterious travelers, made a powerful impression on the collector. […]

We present the work of the best Russian artists of the twenty first century, and we are very discriminating in collecting their work. Nikita Fedosov, Zabelin, Surikov, Levitan – were true professionals. Ilya is an outstanding artist; he has a feeling for form, harmony, and space, explains John Wurdeman. He makes beautiful use of the skill gained from his academic education, and we are happy to present his work.