Black Sea Resort. 1970s. Oil on canvas. By Grigori Shponko.
The late Ukrainian painter Grigori Shponko becomes a hero of Winter 2016 Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in London By James Brewer
Output of a one-time Soviet painter whose peak reputation became established fairly late in life is among features of the Winter 2016 Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, from January 19-24 at Battersea Park, London.
Grigori Andreevich Shponko (1926-2005) lived and worked in Ukraine, and although appreciated by his contemporaries in Kiev, wider recognition was slow in coming. When it did – he was a surprise success at an exhibition in Japan – demand for his oeuvre took off. His paintings were keenly sought for museums and private collections, and several have been auctioned in centres including London.
Grigori Shponko
John Barkes, a dealer who specialises in bringing often ‘forgotten’ works by members of Soviet artists’ unions to public attention, will show at his stand at the Winter Fair a selection of canvases by Shponko. The three-times yearly Fair tends to focus on interior decoration, but includes selected visual art for connoisseurs.
In a half-century career, Shponko chose a wide range of subject matter, including men and women in sports and leisure pursuits, children, sailors, seascapes and scenes from Crimea and St Petersburg. He turned his hand to produce with charming, naturalistic touches, genre painting, landscapes and still life.
Eight oil sketches are the main feature of the display by Dr Barkes at the Winter Fair. The modestly sized canvases include a family beach scene at a Black Sea resort, men playing in the surf, a ski relay race and farmyard bird life on the edge of woodland.
Shponko was born in the village of Balki, in the Zaporozhe region east of the city of Kharkiv. He graduated from Kiev Art Institute in 1954 with honours, after studying under the distinguished teachers K Trokhimenko, G Melihova, and S Grigoreva. His thesis painting was of the warship Admiral Nakhimov,
In the Surf. c 1980. Oil on canvas. By Grigori Shponko.
He began exhibiting in the early 1950s, and worked as an artist in the Kiev Opera House. He was chosen to take part in the restoration of the huge diorama Defence of Sevastopol 1854-55 which had been damaged during the German siege of the port in 1942.
One reference work says that Shponko adhered to the principles of socialist realism (a diktat from Stalin that art should celebrate directly a working class rejoicing in socialism). Following an accident in which he lost his right arm, he had to work with his left.
Dr Barkes says: “He was a hardworking artist who never attracted much attention, was never given a one- man show, but when the Kiev Artists’ Union sent an exhibition to Japan his work caused a sensation.
“In Tokyo, Shponko was perceived by Japanese critics and artists to be the star of the show. As might be imagined, this made him something of a hero among the artists of Kiev.”
Ruling the Roost. 1970. Oil on board. By Grigori Shponko.
Shponko had been regarded as “a provincial journeyman, his pieces included with the illustrious creations of nationally known academicians from Moscow and Leningrad, ” when the Soviet Artists’ Union sent major exhibitions to Japan from 1976 until 1981.
His striking compositions, his individual use of colour and lightness of touch, his general sense of optimism and humour and his sympathy for young people all serve to distinguish his work amid the highly conformist world of socialist realism, comments Dr Barkes.
Dr Barkes bought from the Paris art trade in 2013 two of Shponko’s paintings, and subsequent research took him to Kiev in August 2015, when he was able to gain access to the estate of the artist.
Among the UK specialist’s recent artistic interests is a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, Elena Konstantinovna Gorokhova (1933-2014), who survived the sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad, to study at the Repin Institute of Art, and paint in oils, tempera and watercolour with motifs often derived from Russian folklore.
Small oil sketch by Grigori Shponko.
Living artists of whom Dr Barkes has examples are the prolific Nadezhda Kuchina, and Vera Nazina, a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists who travelled widely in Russia. Vera married fellow artist Viktor Sharanovich.
The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, January 19-24 2016, is at Battersea Park, London. www.decorativefair.com
