MacDougall Auctions 12-18 June 2008
12 June 2008
* § 380. TSELKOV, OLEG B. 1934
Two People signed, also dated 1983, and titled on reverse.
Oil on canvas, 194.5 by 130 cm.
80,000-120,000
Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist.
Private collection, Canada.
Related Literature: A. Glezer. Oleg Tselkov, Monograph. Moscow 1992.
Oleg Tselkov, Le Grandi monographie, Milan, Fabbri Editori, 1988.
The work offered here for auction relates to the period when Tselkov’s creative talent was at its height and includes his famous
work Faces from the late 1970–1980s. Painted in his familiar blueviolet
and red palette, they all bear the hallmark of his trademark
compositions, forming a portrait gallery of endless characters in
the theatre of the absurd of human existence.
Oleg Nikolaevich Tselkov was fascinated by pictorial and textural quests
in the spirit of the Knave of Diamonds from his days as a student of
the legendary stage designer Nikolai Akimov. He gained true fame
however through his so-called Faces. These were bright, almost surrealist
canvases depicting round-headed human-like creatures with bloated
bodies, slit eyes and faces that appear as like fused-on glazed masks.
Painted in bright, shimmering colours, usually on a black background,
these garish poster-like images had by the 1970s become a
popular symbol in the West of the Soviet artistic underground, a
kind of caricature of Homo Soveticus. Tselkov himself acknowledged
that he “painted a kind of portrait, but not a portrait of an
individual subject, rather a general portrait all in one – and horribly
recognisable... It is the face of modern humanity as a whole. I did
not set myself the task of “tearing off masks”. I did not see “good”
and “bad”, but something more real, below the surface. It is what
we all are under the skin that brings us together. I cannot have specific
grievances against a particular person, but I have more than
specific grievances about people en masse, humiliating and tormenting
each other, sending each other to kingdom come. I have
the right to these grievances for the past, present and future…”
Oleg Tselkov studied stage design under Nikolay Akimov at the
Leningrad Theatre Institute. Akimov, a well-known designer and
graphic artist, began his career in the 1920s. He was known for his
sophistication, artistic vision and inimitable wit. He gave his students
individual freedom, taught them the principles of avant-garde art and
guided them in their creative thinking. Unlike their counterparts in
other media, students of theatre design were permitted to employ elements
of Surrealism, Cubist forms and unconventional relations
between the objects. At that time, the Leningrad Theatre Institute was
the only official place where one could experiment with forms and
objects. Theatre has a strong influence not only on Tselkov’s artistic aesthetics,
but also on his unique understanding of the human condition.
In his artistic vision, Tselkov took a major step forward, rising
above the classic theatrical narrative. His characters do not resemble
the traditional tragic or comedic masks that decorated the
facade of every theatre in the Soviet Union. Their inner conflict is
not instantly apparent. The tranquility and uniformity of their
images is soothing and frightening at the same time.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.