Oleg Nikolayevich Tselkov (russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Целко́в; 15 July 1934 — 11 July 2021) was a Russian nonconformist artist, celebrated for his images of faces painted in bright color, depicting inner psychological patterns of violence in contemporary culture.

Biography

In 1956 he had his first apartment exhibition in the Vladimir Slepyan (1930–1998) houseroom. In 1958 he graduated from the

Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy The Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (russian: Российский государственный институт сценических искусств), formerly known as St Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, formerly Leningrad State ...

, where he studied under experimental scenic designer and theatre director

Nikolay Akimov Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov (russian: Никола́й Па́влович Аки́мов; – 6 September 1968) was an experimental theatre director and scenic designer noted for his work with the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. His most notorious product ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Tselkov studio in Moscow was visited over the years by such celebrities as, Arthur Miller,

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

, Renato Guttuso,

Lilya Brik Lilya Yuryevna Brik (alternatively spelled ''Lili'' or ''Lily''; russian: link=no, Ли́ля Ю́рьевна Брик; née Kagan; – August 4, 1978) was a Russian author and socialite, connected to many leading figures in the Russian avant ...

, Anna Akhmatova,

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...

, Yevgeny Yevtushenko (close friend of Tselkov),

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He wa ...

, and

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

. The first Tselkov solo exhibition was opened in

Kurchatov Institute The Kurchatov Institute (russian: Национальный исследовательский центр «Курчатовский Институт», 'National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute) is Russia's leading research and developmen ...

in January 1966, but after two days it was closed by the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

for being ideologically unacceptable. In 1977 Tselkov moved to Paris. Some time later, he bought a farm in the Champagne region of France, 300 km from Paris. There he equipped a two-floor studio where he lived and worked.

Bibliography

* * * * * * pp. 50–59 * *

References

External links

Artworks on the artnet

Oleg Tselkov paintings were sold at Sotheby's for variable prices, since 6,600 GBP till 181,250 GBP depending on size and year of creation.
Tatyana Borodina on Oleg Tselkov exhibition
at ABA Gallery in Manhattan, New York, 2013. Details of Tselkov biography (on Russian).
VIDEO: Oleg Tselkov speak on the subject matter of his paintings
in Aktis Gallery, 2010. There are also some recognizable sculptures of master.
VIDEO from Tselkov exhibition in Moscow, Summer 2014.
The artist has told some of stories from his past and formulated his paintings philosophical conception. 1934 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters 21st-century Russian painters 21st-century Russian sculptors 20th-century Russian sculptors 20th-century Russian male artists Russian male sculptors Russian State Institute of Performing Arts alumni Belarusian State Academy of Arts alumni People from Krasnogorsky District, Moscow Oblast 21st-century Russian male artists {{Russia-painter-stub