Viktor Nikolaev

Viktor Nikolaev 2016.

Viktor Nikolaev (born May 15, 1943 in Moscow , † July 3, 2017 in Berlin ) was a Russian - German artist and calligrapher of Jewish origin. His paintings from the perestroika era were among the first to be exhibited in the West. Nikolaev has been described by critics as one of the most important exponents of Russian abstract painting.

His works have been shown at solo exhibitions in galleries and cultural institutions in Russia and Europe , for example in the Tretyakov Picture Gallery (Moscow), the Glinka Museum (Moscow), the Russian State Museum ( St. Petersburg ), the Bernhard Vidal Gallery ( Paris ), Galerie Friedrich ( Cologne ), in the Frankfurter Hof ( Mainz ), Art Center Berlin . In recent years Nikolaev has been particularly inspired by music, dance and film art, as evidenced by his regular exhibitions and performances in the Moscow State Center for Contemporary Art and in Berlin's cultural institutions.

biography

Viktor Nikolaev worked as an artist from 1968. From the end of the 1970s, the artist's creative interests developed from Western European tachism and abstract panel painting of the 1980s and 1990s to abstract calligraphy .

In his works, exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums in Russia, France, Germany, Italy and other countries, Nikolaev often used painting, photography and video as synthesis.

From 1976 to 1977 there was arranged apartment furnishings with the participation of Dmitri Alexandrowitsch Prigow , B. Orlow, R. Lebedev, I. Shelkovsky, F. Semenov-Amursky and Gerlovins.

Nikolaev had art dialogues with Andy Warhol , Ilya Kabakov , Christo and Francisco Infante-Arana. He carried out joint projects with Sergey Letov, Iraida Yusupova and other musicians. In recent years, Viktor Nikolaev's projects have been associated with abstract calligraphy on paper and on a television screen. In 2005 Viktor founded the first Berlin calligraphy theater, which presented performances in cooperation with musicians, writers and dancers in various cultural centers in Western and Eastern Europe. The mobile theater for calligraphy initiated by V. Nikolaev works on projects dealing with the confrontation of ideology and art in Europe and Asia.

Viktor Nikolaev worked with the dancers Andrei Berezin ( Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ), Edsel Scott (Berlin), Asja Belaja, Natalia Tscheban, Anna Melnikova, Ingo Reulecke ( Academy for Dramatic Art “Ernst Busch” Berlin ), the musicians Sergei Letov, Fedor Amirov , Elena Zolotova, Ivan Sokolov, Tina Georgiewskaja, the Studio Neue Musik , Sascha Puschkin, Alexander Frangenheim, Ildar Kharissov, Evgeni Makarov, the poets Boris Schapiro, Andreas Diehl, Dmitriy Vedeniapin, Alexej Prokopiev, Yuri Godovanets, the photographers Igor Muchin, Igor Gorovenko and Martin Knerner together in the cities of Berlin and Moscow .

Reviews

“Nikolaev's works of the past 20 years (before his discovery of abstract calligraphy) seem to me an interesting material for reflection on post-art. They have neither elements of what is deliberately "made" or "artful" nor reliable, tangible structures such as geometric or rhythmic repetition ... Apparently it was not by chance that after such a reduction, the artist needed the correlation of his gestures with ordered figures from the vocabulary visual forms and bearers of meaning: the human body, architectural and advertising photography, etc. The post-formal needs foreign forms in order to declare its otherness. The stimulating spark jumps over when touched and overlapped. [...] "

- Evgeni Steiner, ( University of New York )

“Viktor Nikolaev, for his part, saw no inner reason to create his personal variant of 'dissident art'. Social commitment, whatever its form, is fundamentally alien to its nature. The artist is carried away by the plastic and existential discoveries of the great predecessors. One observes the emergence of very large series, within which each work, without being a direct continuation of the previous one, appears in terms of rhythms and colors like a link in the visual metamorphoses of an object that discovers itself. The art of Nikolaev in its particularity and its organic desire for non-representational expression raises the question of the survivability of pure abstraction, a current that is one of the most important phenomena of the visual culture of our century. "

- Marina A. Bessonova, Director of the Department of Western Art ( Pushkin Museum , Moscow)

Exhibition, Tretyakov, May 13, 1993 (Moscow)

Selected exhibitions and performances

• 1977: “The House of Culture”, Dubna , Russia
• 1986: “Film Retrospectives”, Moscow
• 1987: “Glinka Museum for Music Culture”, Moscow
• 1987: “Dynamo” cultural center, Moscow
• 1988: CDRI (Central House of Art Professionals), Moscow
• 1989: Exhibition “Painting and Music” in the Moscow Künstlerhaus
• 1989: Bernard Vidal Gallery, Paris, France (catalog)
• 1990: Exhibition "Babylon" in the Youth Palace, Moscow
• 1990: "Glasnost - Perestroika" in the BIAF, Barcelona, ​​Spain
• 1990: Exhibition "Art against AIDS" in the Friedrich Gallery, Cologne, Germany
• 1991: The painter's central house, Moscow
• 1991: ul.Solianka Exhibition Hall, Moscow
• 1991: Galerie Friedrich, Cologne, Germany (with L. Lazareshvili); (Catalog)
• 1992: Theodor Heuss Academy , Gummersbach, Germany, org. from Galerie Friedrich, Germany
• 1992: Frankfurter Hof , Mainz, Germany
• 1992: Galerie Friedrich, Cologne
• 1993: State Tretyakov Gallery , Moscow
• 1996: Museum "Ex Libris", Moscow
• 1998: The Painter's Central House (Центральный дом художника), Moscow, org. from "Les Oread", France
• 2001: Museum "Rosiso" (Russian graphics), Moscow
• 2001: Gallery No. 8, Berlin
  

  first international exhibition of abstract calligraphy, 2016
• 2004: Exhibition "Dreieck" in the Städtische Galerie des Schillerpalais, Berlin
• 2005: Russian Chamber Theater - Performance "CalligraphyCollaborations" with Sascha Puschkin (electric piano) and Edsel Scott (dance), Berlin
• 2005: Bus stops in Moscow - performance "Advertising and Art" with Igor Muchin (photo)
• 2005: Club "Dom" - performance "Calligraphy", Moscow
• 2005: Club “Shiwojugolok” - performance with Asja Belaja, Moscow
• 2005: State Center for Contemporary Art - performance “Calligraphy verily” with the cultural scientist Evgeni Steiner (New York University), Sergei Letov a. a., Films by Viktor Nikolaev, Moscow
• 2006: "Babylon" film theater, Berlin-Mitte - "Nefertiti in Babylon", performance and films
• 2006: Filmtheater "Krokodil", Berlin - Performance "Calligraphy Jam Session" with Sascha Puschkin (e-piano) and Edsel Scott (dance)
• 2006: State Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow - evening program “Calligraphy veritable”, performance with S. Letov and showing of films, film theater “Babylon”, Berlin-Mitte - exhibition “Nefertiti in Babylon”, performance and film presentation, film theater “Krokodil “, Berlin - Performance with Alexander Pushkin and Edward Scott and screening of films
• 2007: Berlin, Society for EAST EUROPE FUNDING - performance and exhibition "Theater of Calligraphy" with Evgenij Makarov (electric guitar), Andrej Berezin (dance) and Ildar Kharissov (piano)
• 2007: Berlin, Kino "Krokodil" - dance performance with video films (dance: Andrei Berezin, Edsel Scott, Asja Belaja, Natalia Tscheban) and music (Ildar Kharissov, Evgeni Makarov) as part of the film week "TABU?"
• 2007: Moscow, "Die Zeche" - performance "An intimate diary" with Olga Maikl (pantomime) and Sergei Letov (saxophone)
• 2007: Moscow, "Die Zeche" - "Calligraphy Theater", performance "Der Himmel" with Sergei Letov and Valja Sazhina (pantomime)
• 2007: Moscow, State Center for Contemporary Art - Performance “Vera Cold” with Sergei Letov a. a.
• 2008: Berlin, Kunsthaus Tschaikowsky - performance "Calligraphy in the sky" with Ingo Reulecke (dance), Evgenij Makarov (electric guitar) and Ildar Kharissov (electric piano)
• 2008: Berlin, Kunsthaus Tschaikowsky - performance with the poets Andreas Diehl, Boris Schapiro and Ildar Kharissov and the musician Evgenij Makarov (electric guitar)
• 2008: Moscow, State Center for Contemporary Art - "Exposition", performance with the SOMA group - composers Dmitri Kourliandski, Sergei Newski, Boris Filanovsky a. a.
• 2009: Moscow, Club “OGI” - performance with Tina Georgievskaya and Sergei Letov as part of the Kazimir Malevich memorial evening
• 2009: Moscow, Club Izvestija - performance "Shamans on the Red Square" with ValjaSazhina, dance theater Natalija Fiksel and Sergei Letov (saxophone)
• 2009: Hersones / Sevastopol (Ukraine), “Zelenayapiramida” gallery - exhibition and performance “Antica & Avantgarde” as part of the international art festival of the same name, initiated by Viktor Nikolaev
• 2009: Moscow, State Center for Contemporary Art - exhibition and performance “The Sacred Eros” with the poet Juri Godovanets and the musicians Sergei Letov, Fedor Amirov, Irina Romodina, Elena Zolotova and Edita Fil, film “Kremlin Reichstag” with Ingo Reulecke, Anna Melnikova (dance), Ildar Kharissov (piano), Uta Schilling (camera)
• 2009: Moscow, Club Izvestija - performance "Shamans on the Red Square" with ValjaSazhina, dance theater Natalija Fiksel and Sergei Letov (saxophone)
• 2009: Berlin, NIMMERSATT - exhibition and performance "Destruction of the Temples" with Tobias Schwartz (text), Pascal von Wroblewsky (vocal), Ildar Kharissov (piano)
• 2009: Moscow, Zverev Center for Contemporary Art - performance and exhibition "Bathers" (with Alexej Orlovskij and Petr Perewersentsev)
• 2009: Moscow, Zverev Center for Contemporary Art - performance and exhibition “21-25. Nothing abstract "(with Igor Terechow and Jakov Ljubimov)
• 2009: Berlin, Russian Stage - Performance "Destruction of Temples" with Tobias Schwartz (text), Pascal von Wroblewsky (vocal), Ildar Kharissov (piano), Ingo Reulecke and Anna Melnikova (dance)
• 2010: Berlin, Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt - installation and performance “The Walls”, dance - Minako Seki, Ingo Reulecke; Video pantomime - Sasha Bugreeva, Roman Andreykin; Voice, flute, composition - NataliaPschenitchnikova; Composition and Electronics - Ildar Kharissov; Video - Linas Burneika, Boris Raskin, Alexey Zhul
• 2010: Berlin, Dahlem museums - installation and performance “Die Wauern”, dance - MinakoSeki, Ingo Reulecke; Voice, flute, composition - Natalia Pschenitchnikova; Composition and Electronics - Ildar Kharissov; Video - Maryna Shuklina
• 2010: Berlin, Rathaus Schöneberg - performance "Wind der Ruin", dance - Adam Read, Marek Berlin; Piano - Marina Baranova; Double bass - Alexander Frangenheim; Video - Boris Raskin, Maryna Schuklina
• 2010: Berlin, Theater “Majak” - performance “Ljod”, dance - Yula Wind, Christian Günther; Video - Boris Raskin, Linas Burneika
• 2010: Moscow, Club “Dom” - performance “Eros i Vlast”, dance - Roman Andreykin, Sasha Bugreeva; Vocals - Tina Georgievskaya; Wind instruments and electronics - Sergei Letov; Video - Alexey Zhul
• 2010: Moscow, Belyaevo Gallery - performance “Eros i Vlast” as part of the program “The total theater of Vyacheslav Koleychuks”; Dance - Roman Andreykin, Sasha Bugreeva; Music - Sergei Letov u. a.
• 2011: Berlin, Humboldt Library - performance “Russian Beauty” with Ingo Reulecke (dance) a. a .; Video - Igor Gorovenko
• 2011: Berlin, PANDA / Kulturbrauerei - “The crazy hieroglyph”, poetry - Marina Hagen (Moscow) and Ildar Kharissov; Percussion - Thomas Steinbach; Video - Igor Gorovenko
• 2011: Einbeck, (Germany), Altes Rathaus - “Theater of Calligraphy meets Kunsthaus Einbeck”, piano - Ashley Hribar; Video - Igor Gorovenko; Dance - Adam Read u. a.
• 2011: Moscow, Zverev Center for Contemporary Art - performance "Sintez-dejstvie", poetry - Anna Golubkova, Alexey Sosna, Danila Davydov, Igor Sid, Marina Hagen, Nikolay Baytov, SvetaLivak, YuliaSkorodumova, Yuriy Godovanets and others. a .; Singing on texts by D. Vedenyapin and A. Prokopiev - Tina Georgievskaya and Elena Isaeva; Bassoon - Alexander Alexandrov (Munich); Composition, electronics - Anatoliy Pereslegin2012 - 7th Berlin Biennale / KW Institute for Contemporary Art - "re-occupy + KREML", vocal - Anastasia Astrix; ElekroSounds - Pär Thörn (Stockholm), Technology - BorisRaskin (Berlin)
• 2012: Berlin, Society for EAST EUROPE PROMOTION - Exhibition and performance “Power of the Sign”; Reading and singing - Helena Kolb; Cello - Ekaterina Zaplakhova; Piano - Mikhail Mordvinov
• 2012: Berlin, NIMMERASATT - “Metropolis”, text and reading - Wladimir Sergienko; Saxophone and Electronics - Sergei Letov
• 2012: Berlin, NIMMERASATT - experimental Rok + opera “Ja - Pussy! Yes - Right! “, Reading - Boris Schapiro; Piano - Mikhail Mordvinov; Vocals - Anastasia Astrix; Video film - Boris Raskin
• 2012: Berlin, PANDA / Kulturbrauerei - “The Walls”, scene 4 / text by Vladimir Sorokin, reading (German and Russian) - Ildar Kharissov; Music - Sergei Letov; Video pantomime - Sasha Bugreeva, Roman Andreykin; Video - Alexey Zhul
• 2012: Berlin, PANDA / Kulturbrauerei - performance “BeautiesandtheBeast” with Ensemble LepotaRussian Folk, ArturStoll (Berlin - Russia) - electric guitar, voice; Hamid Saneiy (Berlin - Azerbaijan) - Iranian rhythms on def, traditional Azerbaijani singing and ballads; BabuaPahari (Berlin - India) - Indian rhythms on tabla and bansuri (Indian flute)
• 2013: Berlin, Glashaus - Presentation of the project "In Dialogue with Classics" as part of the exhibition "TwoHints in One"
• 2013: Berlin, NIMMERASATT - Festival of the Calligraphy Theater, multimedia performance “The Power of the Square” with Viktor Nikolaev (artistic direction, manual video painting), Mikhail Mordvinov (piano), Michail Zhukov (percussion), Anna Melnikova (dance) and Boris Raskin (video).
• 2013: Berlin, NIMMERASATT - OPEN DAYS of the Theater of Calligraphy (2): Exhibition “In Dialogue with Classical Music” (Viktor Nikolaev); Performance with DJs Waldemar von Bock and HiFilLab Philippe Chatry, Viktor Nikolaev - video painting, Boris Raskin - video. Poems by Zhenya Markova (Berlin), Andrey Ditzel (Hamburg), Valerie G (Berlin) and Ildar Kharisov (Berlin) with a video projection, live painting and music.
• 2013: Berlin, NIMMERASATT - OPEN DAYS of the Theater der Kalligraphie (1): Vernissage of the exhibition “In Dialogue with Classics” (Viktor Nikolaev); Performance “Prometheus” with Viktor Nikolaev (artistic director, manual video painting) and Mikhail Mordvinov (piano). Multimedia reading: EvgeniyaDobrova (Moscow), Ildar Kharissov and Zhenya Markova (Berlin). Video: Boris Raskin2013 - Moscow, "Datscha chudozhnikow" - exhibition and performance "Bolotnajapesnschamana" with Vera Sazhina (vocal) and Aleksej Borisov (electronics)
• 2013: Moscow, Moscow Museum of Modern Art / MMOMA - performance “The Heavenly Hieroglyph” as part of the performance festival “igra v klassiki” - Viktor Nikolaev - video painting, Ildar Kharissov - reading, Alexey Borisov - electronics 2013 - Moscow, Zverev- Center for contemporary art - performance within the group exhibition "Beyond the Line"
• 2014: Peredelkino (Russia), GalereyaChudotvoreniya - exhibition and performance "V dialoge s klassikoj" with Alexei Borisov (music electronics)
• 2015: Moscow, "Datscha" gallery - exhibition and performance together with Alexei Skanavi (piano)
• 2016: Moscow, First international exhibition of abstract calligraphy, Zverev Center for Contemporary Art
• 2017: Berlin, Gallery "Art Stalker" - exhibition "Abstract dialogues" (with Serafima Shamkhalova) and performances with Ana Maria Bonis (vocals), Leonid Chernobelskiy (historical instruments), ensemble "Karagaod", Alexei Borisov and Olga Nosova (music electronics)

literature

• Встречи у Фадиных. Антология. Книга вторая. 2011-2017 (2017), pp. 258-260
• Monographic article in the art magazine ART Chronika in 2000, number 2, pp. 100–105
• Almanac BERLIN - OPEN STADT, Vol. 12,14,20,26,31

Web links

• Viktor Nikolaev website ( September 20, 2017 memento on the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.multik.net/nikolaev/nikolbio.htm
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0whjiSmsFfs&t=61s
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxJVVNi-2E
4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171023181208/http://www.art9.ru/nikolaev_critics.php
5. ↑ Catalog Tretyakov Gallery 05/1993
6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20170223001341/http://www.calligraphy-theatre.com/termine.php
7. ↑ // http://web.archive.org/web/20170811080127/http://www.viktornikolaev.de/
8. ↑ https://www.novaya-riga.ru/news/show/art-galereja-dacha-pjati-sobitij/
9. ↑ https://www.kultmucke.de/event/theater-der-kalligraphie-duo-astma-leonid-chernobelskiy/
10. ↑ ALMANAC - BERLINANOPENCITY. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .