What a way to start the season!

Leonid Chvetsov

The “Russian Seasons” has started! The Club “Russian Seasons” which came to existence just nine months ago has assembled an exhibition of works by Russian artists belonging to different generations and having diverse professional or amateur background. For almost three weeks the Palais des Nations hosted a unique collection of paintings and sculpture giving the UN public an opportunity to compare their distinctive artistic styles and thematic preferences. The exhibition is breathing with freshness and elegance. Due to its new for- mat, it is drawing much attention and discussion. The Director-General of UNOG, Serguei Ordzhonikidze, who opened the exhibition in his capacity as the Honorary President of the Club, stressed the idea that lay behind that cultural event: whatever the scale of art there is always something intangible in the creative activity of man, be it professional or amateur, that makes us appreciate talent, vision and value the artistic diversity of our multicultural world.

For the first time in the UNOG history, such an impressive exhibition is being organized not by a Member-state’s Permanent Mission to Geneva but by a UN Staff club that came up with an interesting initiative to invite both Russian recognized masters, younger painters, and amateurs to present their selected works.

Grigory Pototsky’s sculpture is well known and has a wide geographical representation. The sculptor arrived to Geneva from Tokyo where he had inaugurated his recent creation – a monument to Anton Chekhov. Monumen- tal statues of Pushkin, Polezhaev, Turgenev have been erected in Quebec, Mordovia, and Moscow. The famous artist has generously donated to the United Nations a copy of the “Monument to Mother of God”, which was put up on 3^rd March 2003 in Sofia in honour of the 125^th anniversary of the creation of the Bulgar- ian State.

Grigory Pototsky likes to call himself a sculptor in painting. Indeed, his relief can- vases are like outbursts of feelings. The loosely contrived women’s shapes are delineated with brushstrokes that are free and instinctive. They dance and vibrate with spontaneity. And the elegant bronze statuettes that the master has chosen for this particular exposition are the reflection of the artist’s world of psychological discovery and admiration of the eternal beauty of the Woman…

Elena Shvetsova-Rossi’s works reveal her willingness to experiment. Snowbound orthodox monasteries and twilight city landscapes are mesmerizing with their magic serenity. More recent paintings, like “Rain Bubbles”, are signaling a departure from her brand of realism. They reveal little connection to the figurative paintings for which she is best known. However, whether we are admiring the blooming flowers outlined in vivid con- trasting colors or the city contours painted in muted hues, the most salient characteristic of her painting stands out: its strong sure brush- stroke, and the eye and experience of an artist who has been working for more than 20 years.

Polina Ivanova has kept her canvases resonating with youthful exuberance. Her painting is rather elaborate in terms of composi- tion and execution. It is passionate painting, not only for its vivid emotional content, but also for the perseverance that has gone into its development.

It is unexpected and wonderful that she was able to produce works of such individuality, craftsmanship, and fun to look at. They are bursting at the seams with drama and alle- gory, visual detail and theatrical elaboration. Her “city characters” seem at once totally familiar, weird and irresistibly compelling.

Painting for the love of painting is not a bad reason for picking up the brush. Elena Ordzhonikidze has a passion for painting. And she has forged a sound base for her artistic expression through the relentless study of the great masters of the past and with the help of the well-known contemporary painters like Alexander Petrov and the Borisovs. This challenging exposition was the first time that her works were shown to the public. She depicted the marvelous nature of her new home setting on Lake Geneva with softness and certain naiveté that makes her works so charmingly delightful.

Nadejda and Serguei Borisov are talented and prolific painters whose selected works have made the exhibition complete. Both artists have a solid professional background and their preference for neo-realism is matched by their skills. Inspired by the beauty of the Russian landscape, they create marvelous pictures of the Russian country-side filled with traditional seasonal colorings.

The “Rendez-vous” with Russian Artists was a tremendous success! The laurels go to the artists of course, but the organizers (Tatiana Romanova, Galina Ivanova, Milena Bellini, among others) should also be praised for the preparation and holding of the exhibition which will hopefully be followed by many more events of the same scale and quality.