Nicholas Zalevsky (born February 19, 1951, Kiev, Ukraine) — Ukrainian and American figurative painter. His works have been associated with Magic realism,

Photorealism Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...

and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

. He started his career as a

Soviet Nonconformist Art The term Soviet Nonconformist Art refers to Soviet art produced in the former Soviet Union from 1953 to 1986 (after the death of Joseph Stalin until the advent of Perestroika and Glasnost) outside of the rubric of Socialist Realism. Other terms u ...

ist (

ukrainian underground Ukrainian underground was a movement in Ukraine's Soviet period from the late 1950s through the early 1990s. This art form was banned by several totalitarian countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR. It was also known under other names, such as uno ...

) opposing the then dominant to Soviet

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. He had to create art in the underground. From 1991 he works out of

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...

, USA, with regular visits to his native city.

Awards

* First Place of an international on-line Art-competition.net —«Scapes-2018

* Museum of Russian Art,

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

— Best Picture Award, 2012 *

Art League,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

— Best Picture Award, 2011 * The Canton's Gallery,

Canton, Connecticut Canton is a town, incorporated in 1806, located in the Farmington Valley section of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,124 as of the 2020 census. It is bordered by Granby on the north, Simsbury on the east, Avon a ...

, — Best Picture Award, 1995

Biography

Nicholas Zalewsky was born on February 19, 1951 in Kiev, Ukraine, to an ethnically mixed family of a Ukrainian mother and a Jewish father. Zalevsky's only sibling is, — his brother Vladislav who is 17 years his senior. From his early childhood, Nicholas showed a talent for drawing, which led him to study in specialized

Shevchenko State Art School , image = Shevchenko State Art School (1940).jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Shevchenko State Art School at 2 Volodymyrska Street, Kyiv in 1940 , address ...

in Kiev from where he, —graduated in 1968 (as his friend Les Podervianskyi). Then he attended the Ukrainian Academy of Printing in Kiev graduating from its Department of Graphic Arts in 1976 and moving on to work as a children books illustrator. He was friends with artists and teachers Florian Yuryev and

Vilen Barskyi Vilen Isaakovych Barskyi (27 October 1930 – 24 December 2012) was a Ukrainian Soviet and German painter and graphic artist. He was a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, . He was also a Russian-language poet, essayist, and author of expe ...

(sometimes he worked as a bodybuilder in his drawing lessons). His artistic position drastically differed from the canon of Socialist Realism. His artistic views being greatly different from those that conformed to the canons Socialist Realism. In 1977, Nickolas took part in

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

art exhibition by the art association «Rukh» («Movement») along with such artists as Mykola Trehub, Vudon Baklitsky,

Yuri Kosin Yuri Kosin ( uk, Косін Юрій Олекса́ндрович; 26 September 1948 – 24 October 2022) was a Ukrainian photographer, lecturer, curator of exhibitions, and traveler. Kosin was a member of the National Society of Photo Artists ...

, Alexander Kostetsky,

Olena Golub Olena Golub or Holub ( uk, Олена Євгенівна Голуб; born December 25, 1951, in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian contemporary artist, media artist, digital artist, collage artist, painter, art historian, representative of Ukrainian New Wa ...

and others. Naturally, he did not expect to achieve any success in a country that did not let him develop his talent. For years, Zalevsky lived by doing odd jobs while exhibiting his paintings in such conditions as private apartments or abandoned buildings. This led the artist to seek and develop new directions in his work. In 1991, he and his family moved to the US joining his elder brother who had already settled there.

Creativity

Zalevsky's painting manner exhibits the features of

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

based on the discourse of the absurd associated with the works of Arthur Rimbaud,

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

, and Charles Bukowski. «I always wanted to blow up this perfectly-fed world of Dutch still life. The picture is not entitled to be a supplement to the expensive interior» — writes Zalevsky . His " Dutch Still Life" (2005) contains, in addition to ordinary objects (such as potatoes, an onion, a plate and a bottle of beer) a cut-off human finger which does not belong to this traditionally set group of objects. Zalevsky's multi-figured composition "

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

" (1996) gives an unusual treatment to the theme of Christ by depicting only one of his nail-pierced hands of gigantic size stuck out of an entrance to a NYC subway station. His interpretation of such mythological figures as

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

(2002) and

Centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

(2016) denies them their customary pathos and heroism. Zalevsky works on his every in painstakingly careful and lengthy way, with many preparatory drawings, during several years for one painting. As a result, his paintings have received much attention and appreciation at international art competitions.First Place of an international on-line Art-competition.net —«Scapes-2018

/ref>

Exhibitions

* 2012 — Museum of Russian Art, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, (personal exhibition) * 2012 — Museum of Russian Art, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, Best Picture Award * 2011 — West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA, (personal exhibition). * 2011 — CT +6, West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA, Best of Show Award. * 2009 — Jewish Community Center, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA * 2006 — Gallery "Collection", Kiev, Ukraine (personal exhibition). * 1995 — The Canton's Gallery, Canton, Connecticut, USA, Best Picture Award. *1977,1978 — exhibitions of underground creative association «Rukh»(«Movement»), Kiev, Ukraine

Notes

Sources

* in ukr.: '' Glib Viches, Sidor Hibelynda-O. '' // Terminology of Modern Art, Paris-Kyiv, Terra Incognita, 2010, - P.239. * in ukr.:' ''

.''Dialogue across the ocean. //

Den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

(The Day), 2006, —Dec.

External links

Nick Zalevsky

Nicholas Zalevsky. Ukrainian Art Library (ukr.)
* :uk:Залевський Микола Рахмілович Ukrainian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalevsky, Nicholas 1951 births Living people American contemporary painters Postmodern artists Ukrainian artists Painters from Connecticut Shevchenko State Art School alumni Ukrainian SSR emigrants to the United States