They say that cats are loners and rarely gather in prides, but this time there are thousands of them under one roof! In the Exhibition Center of the Union of Artists, in St. Petersburg, opened the first international exhibition"Portrait of a Cat"
Paintings with cats and about cats, cats and kittens filled all five halls of the historical building on Bolshaya Morskaya. Artists from 70 cities different countries world (Russia, France, Germany, China, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, North Korea) brought to this exposition more than a thousand works. Everything is here: virtuoso watercolor, experimental sculpture of a cat, designer dolls, jewelry made of gold and silver, and much more.
Portrait of a cat: sad and cheerful
The real dream of a cat owner is to be among so many mustaches and tails! The works are so different that even people with absolutely opposite tastes will definitely find here "their" cats, outwardly corresponding to the ideal and close in spirit.
Here there are funny and sad cats, domineering and timid, crafty and simple-hearted, predatory and cozy - one artist will never catch so many shades of feline diversity, even if he devotes his whole life to depicting these amazing animals.
Anna Petrova, an artist from Bryansk, for example, presented her project “Warm Space” at the exhibition and conveyed greetings to all readers of “Around the Cat” with wishes for miracles and fairy tales nearby. Her cats are actually surprisingly warm and touching.
Greetings from the artist of the Warm Space project Anna Petrova
“My cats are so gentle because I mostly paint with pastels,” says Anna. - This material is airy, not flashy, calm, chamber. It's just wonderful that such an exhibition opened in St. Petersburg: this city has always been associated with cats. It seems to me that this exhibition will become traditional here.
Exhibition in St. Petersburg - the first and successful
This assumption was confirmed. Chairman of the Union of Artists of St. Petersburg Alexander Saykov reminded the guests who came to the opening of the exhibition that St. Petersburg is not accidentally called the cat-cultural capital of Russia: cats have guarded the treasures of the Hermitage for centuries, during the terrible years of the blockade, mustachioed guards saved the city from hordes of rats, and today, only according to official According to data, more than a million cats live in the homes of St. Petersburg residents.
Chairman of the Union of Artists of St. Petersburg Alexander Saykov And, although the organizers at first doubted whether they would be able to score enough good work to fill an area of 1.5 thousand square meters, the reality has surpassed all expectations. There was a selection problem, and the exhibition will have to be made regular so that all talented authors can present their cats to the audience.
Paintings with cats from the masters
Of course, special place the exposition is devoted to the work of already recognized masters, whose works are well known both in narrow creative circles and among ordinary cat lovers. Sculptures by Vladimir Petrovichev (the author of the famous cat Elisha and the cat Vasilisa with Malaya Sadovaya), famous St. Petersburg cats Vladimir Rumyantsev and watercolors by the world-famous artist Elena Bazanova adjoin in the central hall.
“Any watercolorist who has a cat at home will confirm that the cat is always next to the artist - he drinks water from a jar and watches,” says Elena. - My cats have always watched my work with great curiosity and tried to be as close as possible to the place where I work.
Watercolors by artist Elena Bazanova Once, the black shaggy cat Shushun, at the moment when I was painting a still life, lay down on a still life table. And it was so tempting to see a cat instead of a still life, that I, willy-nilly, wanted to draw it. That is, we can say that the cat himself climbed into the picture. This is how my first cat job appeared.
Bublik the cat is a special guest of the festival
Only one creature managed to distract cat lovers from admiring contemplation of works of art on the opening day of the exhibition - a handsome cat named Bublik. He came to the exhibition hall as a guest along with his owner and instantly attracted the attention of the public. We must pay tribute to the caudate, he behaved very worthily - professionally posed for photographers and allowed himself to be stroked by everyone.
Bagel cat with owner It turns out that Bublik is an experienced traveler who has already visited several countries and has repeatedly rafted down rivers. Another living confirmation that cats are extraordinary creatures, worthy of an artist's brush, a sculptor's chisel and the admiration of mere mortals.
By the way, on June 8, Petersburgers celebrated the World Day of St. Petersburg cats and cats - there were a lot of visitors that day. But do real cat lovers really need a reason to go to an exhibition, pick up a brush or pencil and draw their own pet? Let the "Portrait of a Cat" step into the people and open its small branch in every home!
Svetlana Mosolova
What canned food is best for cats?
ATTENTION, RESEARCH! Together with your cat you can participate in it! If you live in Moscow or the Moscow region and are ready to regularly observe how and how much your cat eats, and also do not forget to write it all down, they will bring you FREE WET FOOD KITS.
Project for 3-4 months. Organizer - Petkorm LLC.
The first International Exhibition-Festival "Portrait of a Cat" opened on May 31 at the Exhibition Center of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists. This project is dedicated not just to all lovers of mustachioed-striped, but cats as one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. How can one not remember the Hermitage cats, residents of the Republic of Cats, numerous dedication monuments to the cat family that saved the post-war city from small rodents? Yes, our city certainly has a special relationship with these proud, independent and graceful animals.
« In ancient times, cats were revered as deities; and they haven't forgotten about it»
Terry Pratchett
According to the art director of the project, Andrey Vladimirovich Vinogradov, the idea to organize a large-scale exhibition came to him a year ago. Combine love for "seals" and modern Art? Why not? In addition, every second artist has a tailed pet, which he draws - for himself, without exhibiting work, often considering this matter to be frivolous.
The result was unexpected even for the organizers - 5 fully filled halls of the Exhibition Center of the Union of Artists, over 1000 works, participants from 80 cities of Russia and 17 countries of the world! Their works were presented by such eminent artists as Andrey Vetrogonsky, Mikhail Edomsky, Evgeny Dobrovinsky, Dmitry Kustanovich, Konstantin Sterkhov and many others.
It is curious that the curators of the exhibition decided not to divide the works according to the techniques, which, by the way, were presented great amount: in one hall were presented both watercolor and pastel paintings, as well as embroidered on silk, written in ink, pencil. Not every visitor could immediately identify the source material: there are objects made of papier-mâché, woolen, textile, stone, metal, mosaic! It is also noteworthy that, along with such masters as Vladimir Rumyantsev or Elena Bazanova, the guests of the exhibition could appreciate young talents. For example, Boris Marina is an artist from Dmitrov with her own unique style, who is just starting her path to fame. The story of Alla Ivashintsova is curious - a woman began to draw at the age of 70! Now she is 74 years old, and her paintings are exhibited in many galleries: a great example of the fact that you should always believe in yourself and go for your dream!
Separately, it is worth mentioning another participant in the exhibition - Vladimir Petrovichev - a sculptor who gave the city such symbols as "The Bunny who escaped the flood" near the Peter and Paul Fortress, "Vasilisa the Cat" on Malaya Sadovaya Street, "Matroskina's Silence" on Marata Street.
A rich program of events is planned within the framework of the festival: concerts, seminars, master classes, creative meetings with artists. The organizers have grandiose plans - to hold such an exhibition annually, attracting more and more participants (this year there were so many applications that not all of them were processed), to increase the number of photographs. Oddly enough, this popular genre of art was represented by only four works.
The excitement around the exhibition is great: connoisseurs of classical and modern painting come, and families that introduce children to art in such a pleasant way, and couples in love, touched by a skillfully depicted favorite animal. One thing is certain - this "fuzzy" exhibition will give each guest a charge of excellent mood!
Text and photo: Natalia Starodubtseva
From May 31 to June 18, the Exhibition Center of the Union of Artists will host the first international exhibition-festival "Portrait of a Cat", dedicated not just to everyone's favorite animals, but to cats as one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.
The exhibition will present a large and very diverse exposition of art objects - classical and applied - the most different types, techniques and styles. Visitors will see painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, mosaics, stained-glass windows, copyright Jewelry, toys and much more.
In total, the exhibition will feature more than 1,000 works of art. Of equal importance will be entertainment Exhibitions. A daily program of events is planned: lectures, creative meetings, master classes, concerts.
The exhibition will occupy all five halls of the exhibition center, located in the historic building of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. The format of the exhibition-festival is designed both for serious connoisseurs of art and for the widest audience.
Ticket price:
- Entrance ticket - 300 rubles.
- For pensioners, students and schoolchildren - 150 rubles.
- For participants in the Second World War and hostilities, residents of besieged Leningrad and disabled people of all groups - admission is free.
- For kids preschool age(up to 7 years old) - admission is free.
- For SH members, admission is free.
- For owners of "cat" surnames (Kotov, Kotofeev, Lvov, Tigers, etc.) - admission is free.
More details can be found on the organizers' website.
The whole world is divided into cat lovers and dog lovers. In the Exhibition Center of the Union of Artists, no one is divided into anyone, because all its visitors are art lovers. Although, for the sake of truth, it is worth warning that passionate and fanatical dog lovers are better off not getting acquainted with the following information.
According to statistics, portraits of beautiful ladies are in the first place in art, and cats are in the second place. For many masters, cats are " calling card". After all, every third artist always has a purring friend wandering around the studio or at home.
The exposition includes classical and applied art different types, techniques and styles: painting, sculpture, graphics, watercolor, stained glass, designer jewelry and collectible toys. From realism to abstractionism.
The exhibition will be visited by well-known authors - the Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation sculptor Vladimir Petrovichev, the famous Russian watercolorist Elena Bazanova, the Honored Artist of Russia Irina Makoveeva, the famous artist and muralist Mikhail Edomsky and many other outstanding contemporary artists Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Australia, Israel.
Many workshops are planned during the festival.
Master class schedule
== October 4, Thursday ==
- 17:00 - Gathering of guests. Opening of the exhibition-festival - Portrait of a cat. Official part, performance of the duet QUATTROMANIA, inspection of the exposition. Special guest - Hermitage cat Achilles.
== October 5, Friday ==
- 13:00 and 14:30 - Master classes by Ekaterina Zhegulova - Sumi-e (Japanese technique, ink, rice paper)
- 17:00 - Master class by Marina Loginova - Eco-bag with a cat (DPI)
== October 6, Saturday ==
- 13:00 - Master class by Elena Bazanova (watercolor)
- 14:00 - Master class by Peter Kozmin - Watercolor sketching. Cat stylization (watercolor)
- 16:00 - Demonstration master class by Mikhail Edomsky - There are never many cats
== October 7, Sunday ==
- 12:00 - Master class by Olga Ivanova - Watercolor fantasies (watercolor)
- 12:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 15:00 - Master class by Natalia Makarova - painting with wool
== October 10, Wednesday ==
- 15:00 - Master class by Vyacheslav Sinkevich - Guohua cat (Chinese painting technique Guohua)
== October 11, Thursday ==
- 17:00 - Master class by Sergey Fedenko - Draw cats (mixed media)
== October 13, Saturday ==
- 12:00 - Master class by Olga Ivanova - Petersburg cats (acrylic)
- 12:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 15:00 - Master class by Tatyana Petrova - Master of the jungle (watercolor)
== October 14, Sunday ==
- 12:00 - Creative meeting with children's writer Olga Malyshkina, author of books about the adventures of the cat Brys
- 12:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 16:00 - Master class by Olga Ivanova - Decorative brooch (dry felting technique)
== October 16, Tuesday ==
- 17:00 - Demonstration master class by Konstantin Sterkhov - Watercolor cats (watercolor)
== October 17, Wednesday ==
- 15:00 - Master class by Galina Shargina - Watercolor kitten (watercolor)
- 15:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 17:00 - Master class by Olga Ivanova - My favorite cat (pastel)
== October 18, Thursday ==
- 17:00 - Master class Sergey Fedenko - City cat (composition master class)
== October 19, Friday ==
- 17:00 - Master class by Marina Loginova - calligraphy
== October 20, Saturday ==
- 12:00 - Children's master class Tatyana Glushchenko - Magic cat (watercolor)
- 12:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 15:00 - Master class by Tatyana Petrova - Fluffy cats (oil pastel)
== October 21, Sunday ==
- 12:00 - Master class by Marina Repnevskaya - Gingerbread cats
- 15:00 - Master class by Tatyana Petrova - Lynx - a wild cat of the northern forests (watercolor)
Attention! Participation in some master classes may be for additional fee or by appointment (check the schedule of events). When attending several master classes, preferential conditions for visiting the exhibition are possible.