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Mari Culture: Artists: Michail Nefedov
An arist is like a magician. There is a mystery around him, which helps to create a work of art.
The painter Michail Nefedov possesses specific means which are in accordance with the time he lives in
Michail Nefedov was born on November 12, 1936 in Semiozerskaya Pustosh near Kazan. It happened in the monastery, architectural monument of the 16th Century. Their family was moving from Saratov to Kazan at that time. People say that fate gives very hard life to the baby that gets born in the monastery but also he acquires special gift, talent. Now, after 60 years, we can say that it's true.
He fell in love with an art in his childhood. He painted whenever and wherever he could. His dad didn't think it was serious and didn't let his son to attend an artistic school. Soon he read the phrase that his son had made with the pen-knife on his table; "I will become the painter by all means!" After that strict dad let him attend the artistic school in Kazan.
It was postwar hard time and due to his dad's desire Michail entered Forest Technical School and successfully graduated from it.
While stdying in the technical school he succeded in painting and drawing.
Then comes serving in the army even there he doesn't give up painting. Right at that time he takes part in All-Union exhibition with his work "The Important Decision". For being the participant of that exhibition army let him go home two months earlier than it was supposed to.
He entered an artistic school but demands of teachers were opposites to creative search of young painters. Seven painters have decided to quit school because they didn't want to work in "socialist realism", they wanted to create. Nefedov was one of them.
Michail painted remarkable portrait of Academician A. E. Arbuzov at that time. Now this work is in the museum of Academy of Science in Kazan.
In 1986 the paiinter was invited to work in the cosmodrome Baikonur. Meetings with the cosmonauts, romantism of their job, sense of ew light in the desert, all that prompt to create. The painter worked on portrait of Vasily Bikovskyi (now this portrait is the property of Mr. Emmersen, chairman of the European Economic Society), portrait of General Shubnikov, who has founded cosmodrome. This portrait is in the museum in Baikonur. After making many sketches, works on special themes, Nefedov left cosmodrome.
Soon, he moved to Prgevalsk in Kirghizia, after seeing beauty of the lake Issik-Kul. At that time painter learned by correspondence in the Alma-Ata Pedagogical Institute, in the artistic-graphic department. He was a regular participant of exhibitions of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, the Soviet Union.
At that period Michail Nefedov painted "Red Stream". He attracted our attention to the black mass of people. The reason of their moving is a mysterious look of the leader of the Russian Revolution Vladimir Lenin. You get sense of doom, destruction, looking at this work. Michail paited "Red Stream" in 1974, but even then this work couldn't get to the exhibition through strict barriers of those years.
That year his family returned to native places where his childhood was spent. They moved to Yoshkar-Ole and stay there till nowadays.
His work "May Day" leaves sense of unreal plot but also you get a sense of truth and sincerity. Unfortunately, there are so many children in the world who have lost their dads, one way or another. In this work, painter tries to imagine this impossible for those kids meeting of a father and a son. It's illusion. The soldier has a little black hole in his chest, it's trace of a mad bullet, and a little child tries to reach his daddy with his trembling hands...
Newspaper "The Soviet Culture" (February 19, 1980) writes: "There was an exhibition of the painter from Yoshkar-Ola Michail Nefedov in our editorial office. This painteer was a particiipant of many local, republican and All-Union exhibitions.
There are many portraits in his collection, portraits of his friends, relatives and famous people. The museums of Kirghizia, Kazahstan, Kazan and Yoshkar-Ola were lucky to get some of his works. . ."
There were 100 paintings on his exhibition devoted to painter's 60th birthday and 40th anniversary of his creative work. Among them, you would notice "Young Rum" the painting, telling us about ancient culture of the Russians.
"Tzar Ivan IV" is about Ivan the Terrible who has devided Rus into two parts.
"Shishiga" is illusion. Shocked young people see naked figure of a beautiful woman. Fantasy of the painter makes you stand in fromt of the work for a long time.
Paintings devoted to Rus produce light and saint impression, even though painting might be about some tragic event.
Everybody knows that Past is deeply connected with nowadays and Future as well and painter has a gift to bring past into present in his creation.
Usually, spring-autumn time Michail spends in the country. It gives him relaxation and isolation to work. He often exhibits in Moscow. So, this is the life of this wonderful man for whom the work is the main aim of the life.
If you are interested in Michail Nefedov here is his address:
Nefedov Michail Kuzmich
424038, Bulvar Chavaina, dom 20, kv. 208
Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El, Russia
Phone number: (836) 21-6821 (home)
(836) 22-1480 (studio)Shishiga: 120*80 cm Dmitry Donskoy: 150*150 cm Holiday: 80*100 cm Peter the First: 143*200 cm Spring: 100*150 cm Mother And Child: 90*70 cm Galina: The Artist's Wife: 80*60 cm Russian Fairy-Tale: 80*60 cm Demarche (the right part of a triptich): 150*100 cm A Champion's Birth: 150*180 cm Moscow: 82*120 cm Love: 152*199 cm Napoleon's Retreat: 80*100 cm The Lighthouse In Alexandria: 120*160 cm Cross: 180*120 cm