Valery Alexandrovich Volkov (Russian: [vʲalʲerʲi alʲeksánʲdrovʲtɕ vʲólkov]; 1 May 1928 – 6 April 2020) was a Soviet-Russian painter and art historian who lived and worked in Central Asia and in Russia.
Intercultural experiences and knowledge gleaned from the art history of two different cultures was reflected in a distinctive fusion of influences in his paintings.
His painting style is associated with abstract expressionism and merges a sensual world of colour of the Orient and the gestural brush technique of European modernism.
[4] Volkov’s artworks were condemned as not following the mandated “socialist realism” style of Soviet art and therefore a danger to public morality.
[8] From childhood Valery was surrounded by people whose traditions and roots lay in a long historical struggle for independence and democratic freedom for the Turkestanis of The Fergana Valley.
[12][13] His father’s artworks are notable for their colourful depiction of daily life in Central Asia, combining an avant-garde style with expressionist painting.
[15] Their house was often visited by his father's students who were part of the creative group of young artists known as "Volkov's Brigade" - Nikolai Karakhan, Alexei Podkovyrov, Pavel Shchegolev, Ural Tansykbayev.
[2] There he was taught by Mikhail Fedorovich Shemyakin, one of professors at the Moscow Art Institute of Surikov, who was a skilful portraitist carefully drawing attention in his paintings to the character, gesture and inner world of the portrayed person.
[18][20] In 1969, Valery’s first personal exhibition was held in Moscow, at the Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, where the displayed works drew upon impressions formed during a trip to France.
Costakis was working at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow and was known for his collection of the avant-garde paintings and support to Russian painters.
[24] Since 1980, Valery Volkov has been exhibited internationally and his work is included in the collections of museums and private collectors in Russia and abroad.
[25] Starting in 1966 Valery Volkov made frequent trips to Uzbekistan, France, Italy, England, Turkey, Egypt, and the United States.
The meeting took place with the help of a recommendation letter sent to Lanskoy by Yulia Reitlinger, later the acquaintance developed into a long friendship and correspondence.
[28] During the same trip, due to his friendship with Nadia Khodasevich Léger, Volkov visited Marc Chagall in his workshop in the south of France, not far from Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
[30] While staying in France, the couple also visited the castle in Provence, near Ménerbes, where the Russian-born abstract painter Nicolas de Staël used to live and work.
[31] In 1988 Volkov lived and worked in Egypt during which his personal exhibition was held at the Soviet Cultural Centre in Cairo.
[41] His connections with foreign artists and his acquaintance with contemporary Western art enhanced Volkov's interest in abstraction.
The abstract artwork "Kaleidoscope" was painted on the basis of real impressions from Chartres Cathedral (purchased for the collection of the Gregory Gallery - Fine Art, New York, United States).
Volkov’s work developed by intertwining the principles of European abstract art and oriental culture with its contrasts and decorativeness.
His style of painting, which consisted in a collision of contrasting colours applied by strokes of a brush to the canvas, was called by the artist "shock imprinting".
Mirror of Futurism "(2008), a series of portraits of his wife, Svetlana Zavadovskaya: " At the Country House" (1975)," Woman in Green " (1973-1978),"Queen Meroe" (2007).
Up until the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the group frequently worked together in Turkestan, annual travels by train bringing new opportunities for exploring fresh sources of creativity and places in Central Asia.