Oleg Nikolaevich Tselkov, b.1934

Purchased directly from the artist by George Costakis

Original canvas. Apart from some surface dust the picture is in good condition and ready to hang. Held in a simple wooden frame. Unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Tselkov's art is radically different from the rest of the group of Russian non-conformist artists by its strident colours, curbed by the genius of his closest fore-runners - the great 'Russian "avant-garde" in which Tselkov's paintings undeniably participate.

 

"The lack of spontaneity and the presence of a rational basis in combination with brilliant colours make Tselkov's art an art of 'craft' and order on the one hand, and n the other engender a feeling not unlike that of a naked nerve when the visual perceptions become oral perceptions, when his monsters begin to blow their unworldly trumpets, howling over their hopeless fragility. [...] It makes Tselkov's art so dynamic that like such recognised artists as Francis Bacon and Richard Lindner to whom the artist is akin in his inner tensions and his ability to evoke protest, his paintings don't tolerate the company of other paintings but demand separate display."

 

George Costakis, Athens, 1979