Georgy Shishkin

Georgy Shishkin( _ru. Георгий Георгиевич Шишкин; _fr. Gueorgui CHICHKINE; born January 25, 1948) is Russian painter.

Biography

Born in Ekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) in Russia. Son of a first violinist of the orchestra of the musical theatre, from the age of 6, Shishkin already begins violin classes at the Music School. As a child he showed an early passion for drawing, and by his tenth year he was enrolled the Fine Art School. During all of his youth, the teenager was al always deeply influenced by the atmosphere at his great-grand-parents’ house, steeped with authentic russian traditions conserved during the soviet regime.Young Shishkin travelled to the many old cities in his region. With his easel, he visited monasteries and paid close attention to the icons and frescoes. In the Vladimir Cathedral, an ex-capital of Russia, he was struck by the works of Andrei Rublev, considered the first Russian painter.He was a graduate of the National Fine Arts and Architecture School (Academy) in his home town, in 1975, then a trainee at the Stroganoff Institute of Industrial and Fine Arts in Moscow. Georgy Shishkin was a professor of drawing and painting for about 10 years at this Institute where he started as a trainee.

From 1974 he took part in professional art exhibitions, while remaining at home in Socialist Realism.In the same year, he won the national competition for young creators in Russia and participated in the Prestige Exposition in Moscow.Experimentation with different techniques led him to favour pastel from 1980 and three years later he created his base preparation under the pastel. In 1981, during his first personal exhibition, many of his paintings were acquired by the State Fine Arts Museum. However, being multi-facetted, Georgy Shishkin made the interior decorations for the Ekaterinburg Opera Museum (1983-1985), with two large frescoes and a portrait gallery of the most famous soloists. The portrait of the ballet star Piotr Gusev was acquired by the Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music.At the same time, for nine years, the artist worked as an architect and several buildings were erected according to his plans.

In 1992, after travelling abroad, in Germany and Holland, (from 1989), Georgy Shishkin, in a quest for his roots, began painting his “Russian Dreams” cycle of paintings. This cycle intended to express spiritual content by uniting abstraction and reality. He was invited by the Mayor of Saint Petersburq, Anatoly Sobchak, to show his works in the Russian State Museum. As for the painting devoted to Chaliapin, it was presented to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

His arrival in France (1993) and in Monaco (1995) led to a meeting with “White Russians” and a new impetus for his cycle.Lord Alistair McAlpine, after his visit to the Shishkin exhibition in Paris, wrote an article about him titled “Painter who captured the enigma of Russia” in “The European Magazine”, noting the great mastery of the painter and high quality of his works.

In 1999, Shishkin won the Taylor Foundation Prize.

At Christie's, during an auction in the Principality, one of his paintings reached fourth place among works of famous artists like Arman, Botero, Folon or Matta ("Le Figaro", 20.03.1999).

Living in Monaco since 1998, the artist has participated in many humanitarian and charitable activities.Georgy Shishkin’s works are found in museums and private collections in many countries, notably in the Prince Palace in Monaco, in the collection of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, in the collections of Luciano Pavarotti, Lord Alistair McAlpine, brothers Lords David and Frederick Barklay. The artist has made two series of paintings for the Royal Palace of H.M. Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi.Invited to design Monaco’s postage stamps, Shishkin won the competition for drawing the likeness of H.R.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=211&idProd=712&langue=EN]

Exhibitions

Personal exhibitions

* 1981 - Artists' Center, Ekaterinburg;
* 1982 - Art Museum, Irbit;
* 1983 - Central Exhibition Room, Tiumen;
* 1984 - Ural State Conservatoire, Ekaterinburg;
* 1987 - Central Arts Center, Moscow; - Central Literature Center, Moscow; - Physicists' town, Dubna; - Astronauts' town "Zvezdny"; - Central Architects' Center, Moscow;
* 1989 - Exhibition room of the Ministry of the Construction of Oil and Gas Products, Moscow;
* 1991 - "Burg Vossloch" Gallery, Hamburg, Germany; - Hall of the Soviet Supreme, Moscow;
* 1993 - Bolchoi Theater, Moscow; - Exhibition at the XIXe World Philosophy Congress, Moscow; - Exhibition at the IIe World Congress of Compatriots, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow;
* 1994 - "ADS" Gallery , Paris;
* 1995 - Trianon Palace, Versailles;
* 1997 - "Grande Maison", Physicists' town, Bures-sur Yvettes, France;
* 1999 - Palais des Festivals, Cannes; - Atrium of Casino, Monte-Carlo, Monaco;
* 2000 - Gallery des Ponchettes, Nice; - Château-Museum, Auvers-sur-Oise;
* 2005 - "Art 3" Gallery, Paris; - Grand Theater, Luxembourg; - Museum-Citadelle, Villefranche-sur-Mer;
* 2006 - Grimaldi Forum Monaco;
* 2008 - Exhibition, Center Universitaire Méditerranéen, Promenade des Anglais, Nice;

Exhibitions de groupe

* 1974 - Traditional Spring Exhibition, Artists' Center, Ekaterinburg; - Exhibition of the Works of the Students of the Russian Federation, Novosibirsk; - National Exhibition of Young Artists, VDNKh, Moscow;
* 1980 - Regional Art Exhibition, State Gallery, Ekaterinburg;
* 1982 - National Exhibition, Central Exhibition Room "Carousel", Moscow; - "La Nouvelle Collection", Museum of Art, Ekaterinburg;
* 1987 - Exhibition Russian-American at the International Congress "Cooperation in Space in the name of Peace on Earth", International Trade Center Hammer, Moscow;
* 1989 - Autumn Art Exhibition, Gallery 28, Malaya Grouzinskaia, Moscow; - Art Exhibition International "Kunst und Kosmos", "Kö-Gallery", Dusseldorf;
* 1991 - "Russian Portrait", Artists' Center, Kouznietsky Bridge, Moscow; - "Art russe" (avec Kandinsky), "Burg Vossloch" Gallery, Hamburg; - Exhibition of the International Federation of UNESCO Artists, Central Exhibition Room "Carousel", Moscow;
* 1995 - "Les Artistes du Monde", Espace Montparnasse, Paris;
* 1998 - "XXIIe Prix International d’Art Contemporain de Monte-Carlo"; Monaco;
* 1999 - Christie’s (Monaco), Exhibition of 12 Artists: Arman, Botero, Chichkine, Folon, Matta...; - "Créateurs d’Aujourd’hui", organisé par "Arts Inter" (invité comme président d’honneur), Palais des Congres, Saint-Quay-Portrieux; - "Les Maîtres du Portrait contemporain", Museum of Art, Menton;
* 2000 - Gallery of Fondation Taylor, Paris;
* 2001 - "Ambassadeurs of Art European", Lincoln Center, New York;
* 2002 - EUROPASTEL (invité d’honneur), Cuneo, Italy;
* 2003 - Maison de Radio-France, Paris;
* 2004 - Château-Museum Grimaldi, Cagnes-sur-Mer;
* 2005 - Ie Exhibition Internationale of Pastel in Moscow, Central Arts Center;
* 2006 - Art en Capital, Grand Palais, Paris;
* 2007 - Ier Salon International of Pastel, Paris;

Works

* Cycle of pictures " Dreams Russians ";
* Series of artists' portraits;
* Pictures, dedicated to the Theatre: " Homage to Chaliapin ", 1993; triptych " Homage to Ballets Russians of Diaghilev ", 1997; " Homage to Nijinsky ", 2000-2001; " Serge Lifar in Ikare ", 2005;
* Stamps of Monaco;

tamps of Monaco

* " The Room Garnier ", block of six stamps, 16 november 2005. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=207&idProd=640&langue=EN]

* "150th birthday of crйation of l`Orchestre Philharmonic of Monte Carlo, 1856-2006", 6 april 2006. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=186&idProd=676&langue=EN]

* "40th birthday of the Foundation Prince Pierre of Monaco", 20 june 2006. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=184&idProd=692&langue=EN]

* Effigy of Albert II of Monaco, 1 december 2006. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=211&idProd=738&langue=EN]

* "Europa: the scouting", diptych, 4 may 2007. [http://www.siamstamp.com/imgupload/users/par-avion/2007ScoutMC.jpg]

* "Johannes Brahms, 175 years old of the birth of the compositor", 3 january 2008. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idProd=771&langue=EN]

* "50th birthday of the Nobel prize of Littйrature to Boris Pasternak", 8 april 2008. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=182&idProd=807&langue=EN]

* "48th Festival of Television of Monte Carlo", 2 june 2008. [http://www.oetp-monaco.com/webkit/jsp/pop_bout.jsp?idBout=43&idRay=216&idProd=817&langue=EN]

References

- "Gueorgui CHICHKINE/Georgy Shishkin" (fr./en.), peinture, graphique; Paris, 1995, avec une preface d'André Damien, membre de l'Institut de France, maire de Versalles, texte de Pierre-Marc Levergeois, écrivain, critique d'art.

- Alistair McAlpine "Painter who captured the enigma of Russia", London, "The European Magazine", 21-27 september 1995;

- Catalogue de l'exposition "XXIIème Prix International d’Art Contemporain de Monte-Carlo", 1998; - Catalogue de l'exposition chez Christie’s de 12 peintres, Monaco, 1999;

- [http://www.whoswhoart.com/Liste.htm#C"WHO'S WHO IN INTERNATIONAL ART:] les grands et nouveaux noms du Monde Artistique d'Aujo urd'hui" - International biographical art dictionary, 2000, p.: 36, 81, 94.

- [http://www.belygorod.ru/preface/greatColl/1000.html"1000 Russians painters"] , Ed. Bely Gorod, Moscow, 2006, p. 882;

- [http://www.scanrus.ru/index.php?catalog=1 "Russian Art Guide"]

- Catalog "Christie's Interiors", London, 28 september 2008.

External links

* [http://artchichkin.narod.ru/Chichkine's Official Site]
* [http://www.annuairedesartistes.mc/artiste.php?art=21 "Annuaire des Artistes de Monaco"] 2008

Video

* [http://www.1tv.ru/owa/win/ort6_main.main?p_news_title_id=68033 Russian artist Shishkin writes portrait of Gerard Depardieu//Channel One.]