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Urban Legends by Andrii Lipatov

The exhibition "Urban Legends by Andrii Lipatov" opened in Kirovohrad Regional Art Museum on 29 May 2015, at the verge of spring and summer, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of bright and talented artist A. Lipatov (1960-2010), who scored in the history of Kirovohrad fine art and is known far beyond its boundaries.

Paintings from the funds of Kirovohrad Regional Art Museum and private collections by folk artist, member of the National Union of Folk Art of Ukraine Andrii Yuriiovych Lipatov are presented at the exhibition.

The future artist was born on 29 May 1960 near Moscow in a military family. In 1966 the family moved to Kirovohrad. The artist got a degree in Engineering in Kirovohrad Institute of Agricultural Engineering (1980). Once a student Lipatov was fond of caricature and was published in local periodicals. Youth interest in caricature eventually grew into admiration of oil painting, within the framework of which there gradually crystallized a special - Lipatov’s - style.

In fact, we have to “thank”, to some extent, the economic crisis at the dawn of our independence for the appearance of artist Lipatov. That crisis has forced a design engineer of the plant "Hydrosila" to look for alternative sources of income. The way out was unexpectedly found in fine art. His innate talent for drawing combined with self-education helped him create a series of paintings that, unexpectedly for the author, were admired by customers and sold well. The commercial success of the works allowed the painter to devote himself entirely to art without being distracted with the search of other means of living.

Lipatov has no special education and did not make attempts to get it, assuming that it will not harm his reputation as an artist.

Lipatov is an exemplary representative of naive art, a real folk artist. The term "naive art" comes from the French word "naїfs" from the Latin “natives” meaning "natural, indigenous, innate, original." It is used mostly in its narrow meaning, referring to artworks of non-professional artists, which is usually not associated with the dominant artistic style of the era.

Violations of perspective, inobservance of rules of mute colors and lower accuracy when drawing distant objects, typical of naive art, can be observed in Andrii Lipatov’s works.

According to folk tradition, the artist’s pictures are of a narrative kind, their composition is genetically linked to folk painting, ironic caricature, burlesque and animation art, and strongly flavored with Hohol’s motives.

Lipatov’s painting features ingenuousness of images, a special, unique way of expression and reflection of the reality, that is not burdened by any framework and conventions.

The universe of his paintings, his city, is complete and exists according to the perfect laws of the earthly paradise. It is bright, fantastic and welcoming. Filled with optimistic urban myths and a noticeable hint of nostalgia for the Old Town. Painting chronicle of Yelysavethrad-Kirovohrad’s urban life is naturally combined with folk naive of artworks devoted to the suburbs. The accumulation of details and flying "in Shahal’s manner" characters fill the whole space, not allowing empty spaces appear on the canvas.

The essence of Lipatov’s art lies in getting pleasure from likeness, from the joy of recognizing some objects in a picture: streets, buildings, characters, situations.

For seventeen years of active creative activity the exhibiting geography of the artist covers Ukraine, Russia, Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, France and Japan. Artworks by Andrii Lipatov are kept in Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regional art museums, in Kirovohrad Osmerkin Art-Memorial Museum, Vihorlat Museum (Humenn?, Slovakia), Museum of Naive Art (Moscow, Russia), Museum of Naive Art (Bero, France) and in many private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, France, the UK, the Baltic countries, the USA and Canada.

Andrii Lipatov died on 13 January 2010, but the pictorial chronicle of urban life created by him continues to remind us of this original master, whose name is inscribed in the history of Kirovohrad region’s fine art forever.

This is not the first exhibition project in the museum, representing the works of Andrii Lipatov. There opened an exhibition dedicated to the memory of the artist and to his 50th anniversary in May 2010, and the exhibition of his paintings "The sensation of taste” in July 2014.

Kirovohrad Regional Art Museum is grateful to everyone who gave artworks of A. Lipatov for display at the exhibition:  Kirovohrad Regional Universal Scientific Library named after D. Chyzhevskyi, the Lipatovs, V. Volochov, M. Holub, T. Kriepina, the Leshchinovskyis, Y. Liubovych, Y. Mativos, T. Samiliak, T. Tsys, Y. Sharov, the Shlieienkovyis, O. Shulieshko, etc.

 

 

Volodymyr Moroz – research assistant

of Kirovohrad Regional Art Museum