TSELKOV Oleg (1934-2021) Head with a fork Oil on canvas Signed lower right. Named, signed, dated "1995" on the back. 60 x 120 cm. Provenance : private collection, Luxembourg Expert : Ekaterina Nikolaeva-Tendil Expert in Russian Art + 33 (0)6 52 33 90 42 [email protected] www.expertartrusse.com ЦЕЛКОВ Олег (1934-2021) Голова с вилкой Холст, масло Подпись справа внизу. Название, подпись, размер, дата "1995" на обороте. 60 х 120 см. Born in Moscow in 1935, Oleg Tselkov is among the most conniving Russian nonconformist painters of the 1960s (Eric Bulatov, Oscar Rabin, Oleg Koulik and others). He began to exhibit his work in Europe in the 1970s. In 1977, under pressure from the Soviet authorities, Tselkov had to leave the USSR for good and settle in France. He never saw his departure from the USSR as a tragedy, but rather as an opportunity to open up to international art. His style, formed under the influence of the avant-gardists (K.Malevitch, V.Kandinsky, P.Kontchalovski), became quite clear already in the 1970s. Without wanting to make his art a means of fighting against the USSR, he quickly turned to international artists such as Francis Bacon or Alberto Giacometti who influenced him greatly. At the center of Oleg Tselkov's art is a recurring character, represented as a white mask. He will work with this character with his mask-faces all his life. The folkloric and traditional, but striking colors - "The colors must kill, hit hard between the eyes," said Tselkov - made his paintings easily recognizable. In the 1990s, when the paintings presented here were created, Oleg Tselkov was already playing an important role in contemporary art in Europe and was highly sought after by many international collectors. | TSELKOV Oleg (1934-2021) Head with a fork Oil on canvas Signed lower right. Named, signed, dated "1995" on the back. 60 x 120 cm. Provenance: private collection, Luxembourg Expert: Ekaterina Nikolaeva-Tendil Expert in Russian Art + 33 (0)6 52 33 90 42 [email protected] www.expertartrusse.com Born in Moscow in 1935, Oleg Tselkov is one of the most influential Russian non-conformist painters of the 1960s (Eric Bulatov, Oscar Rabin, Oleg Koulik and others). He began exhibiting his work in Europe in the 1970s. In 1977, under pressure from the Soviet authorities, Tselkov had to leave the USSR for good and settle in France. He never saw his departure from the USSR as a tragedy, but rather as an opportunity to open up to international art. His style, formed under the influence of the avant-gardists (K.Malevitch, V.Kandinsky, P.Kontchalovski), became quite clear already in the 1970s. Without wanting to use his art as a means of fighting against the USSR, he quickly turned to international artists such as Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti, who influenced him greatly. At the center of Oleg Tselkov's art is a recurring character, represented as a white mask. He worked on this character with his mask-faces throughout his life. The folkloric and traditional, but striking colours - "The colours must kill, hit hard between the eyes", said Tselkov - made his paintings easily recognizable. In the 1990s, when the paintings presented here were created, Oleg Tselkov was already playing an important role in contemporary art in Europe and was much sought after by many international collectors. | TSELKOV Oleg (1934-2021) Kopf mit einer Gabel Öl auf Leinwand Signiert in der unteren rechten Ecke. Auf der Rückseite benannt, signiert und datiert "1995". 60 x 120 cm. Herkunft: Privatsammlung, Luxemburg Expertin: Ekaterina Nikolaeva-Tendil Expertin für russische Kunst + 33 (0)6 52 33 90 42 [email protected] www.expertartrusse.com Oleg Tselkov wurde 1935 in Moskau geboren und zählt zu den bekanntesten russischen nonkonformistischen Malern der 1960er Jahre (Eric Bulatov, Oscar Rabin, Oleg Koulik und andere). In den 1970er Jahren begann er, seine Werke in Europa auszustellen. Unter dem Druck der sowjetischen Machthaber musste Tselkov 1977 die UdSSR endgültig verlassen und sich in Frankreich niederlassen. Er sah seinen Weggang aus der UdSSR nie als Drama, sondern vielmehr als eine Gelegenheit, sich der internationalen Kunst zu öffnen. Sein unter dem Einfluss der Avantgardisten (K.Malewitsch, W.Kandinsky, P.Kontschalowski) geformter Stil wurde bereits in den 1970er Jahren recht deutlich. Ohne seine Kunst zu einem Kampfmittel gegen die UdSSR machen zu wollen, wandte er sich bald internationalen Künstlern wie Francis Bacon oder Alberto Giacometti zu, die ihn stark beinflussten. Im Zentrum von Oleg Tselkows Kunst steht eine wiederkehrende Figur, die als weiße Mas