Escape Artists – The Non-Conformists Online
Escape Artists – The Non-Conformists Online
Property from a Private Collection, New York
Oleg Tselkov
Pear
Lot Closed
September 21, 01:40 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection, New York
Oleg Tselkov
1934 - 2021
Pear
signed in Cyrillic l.r.; further signed and titled in Latin and dated 1988 on the stretcher
oil on canvas
Canvas: 146 by 114cm, 57½ by 44¾in.
Framed: 164.5 by 132.5cm, 64¾ by 52¼in.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in the 1990s
Instantly recognisable, the art of Oleg Tselkov occupies its own distinct space. Although it is possible to trace influences in the vivid, often primary, colours of Russian folk art or in the monumentality and metallic sheen of Malevich’s peasant figures, Tselkov has a style and aesthetic that is all his own. Even in as disparate and loosely-affiliated a group as the Soviet non-conformists, he was always the slight outsider.
Fittingly perhaps for the vibrant palette he came to be known for, Tselkov’s first solo show took place at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. It was shut down by the authorities after two days for being socially unacceptable. Tselkov emigrated to France in 1977.