Painted Ware from Khokhloma (Part 2) Although the artists of the two historically evolved centres of the craft are mainly concerned with the preservation and revival of the old types of Russian wooden tableware, they often interpret them quite differently. For example, thick-walled deep bowls and large country-style spoons made in Siomino are apparently modelled on the old peasant tradition, whereas Semionov ware is characterized by careful turned work, original shapes and a stamp of urban taste. Each centre also has its own distinctive style of painted decoration, although both are based on traditional patterns. Many Khokhloma artists, well versed in all the traditional decorative designs, still seem to prefer the “grass” motif. Freely applied onto a golden, red or green ground, grass patterns demand of the artist the ability to improvize and vividly express his or her creative individuality. The grass compositions of Yekaterina Dospalova charm us with the stern beauty of their silhouettes and the rhythmic arrangement of their elements. Nina Salnikova’s ornaments are more whimsical, with capriciously bending stems, spreading out like a fan, and the curly flourishes of tendrils. On the decorative plates of Nina Morozova, the brushstrokes glow like tongues of flame shaping fiery flowers and fairy-tale birds. Semionov painting tends towards fantastic images, whereas the work of artists from the village of Siomino reveals their more intimate contacts with nature. Olga Lushina’s grass motifs are emotional and dynamic; she paints soft low grasses meandering along the golden ground or luxurious bushes sprinkled with black bead-like berries, laid on the rounded sides of a drinking mug with energetic strokes of cinnabar, or slanting scarlet grasses, as if bending low in the wind. The artistic manner of Olga Veselova is epic in character. Its rhythm is smooth and slow, and the evenly swaying grass is resilient and succulent. The young craftsman Nikolai Ivanov, following age-old tradition, decorates the bottom of a dish with a lozenge (called a “ginger-bread”), and surrounds it with bouquets of grasses, leaves and ripe strawberries. (Aurora Art, 1988)
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 11:16:22 +0000