 |
 |
 |
Alexey Nikolayevich Chetverikov - is an original sculptor. Being professional military, colonel of frontier-forces, all his life, deep in his soul, he has felt thirst to create. And Chetverikov could realize his constant desire in sculpture - not only difficult and original but also laborious and expensive kind of art.
Born in Russia, Chetverikov spent his childhood and teenage in Almaty. Here in 1977 successfully graduated from Higher Frontier-Forces Academy. He served in Baltic republics. But during that period, art didn't take the last place in the life of the officer. The proof of it can be the fact that his exhibitions began in 80-ies, in Kaliningrad, Riga, Moscow.
Early works of the Master, that date back to the end of the 70-ies are - carved wood, mostly of decorative-applying kind: curious cases for telephones, clocks (1, 2), mirror frames, jewelry boxes. The Artist likes natural warmth of the wood, beauty of its facture and texture curls, fantastic expressiveness of the cankers.
As his experience grew, in the 80-ies his works get to stylistic integrity, his own modus operandi expressed in thorough detailed performing. Sculptor more often turns to the image of a Man, human being - masks, portraits, figurative compositions. And the material is wood, as before. Sometimes those are decisive forms, giving an impression of the Master's hand, subordinating wood to the thought. Sometimes, it is just the other way around, as if an image is in the natural subject, and the sculptor is to emphasize, find, accent on the natural form.
In the end of the 80-ies, during study at the Military-Politics Academy in Moscow, Chetverikov had luck to work with brilliant and experienced sculptors in Grekov's studio. There he devotes himself to bronze casting and got all the technological details of this difficult process. In Chetverikov's sculpture combine Russian school of figurative casting and author approach.
In 1989 Chetverikov comes back from Academy to Almaty to head group of culture of Kazakhstan's frontier forces. From 1993 he's a teacher, leading subject-methodological section of philosophy at Frontier-forces Institute.
Retirement in 1997, in the rank of colonel, allowed Chetverikov to plunge into his much loved activity. He develops his craftsmanship, working with bronze, wood, marble, stone. Here he emphasizes specialties of each material. His bronze sculptures are characterized by thorough form detailing, fancy-free contours, shades interaction. These works are marvelously dynamic and have a lot of plastics. Sculptor is out to emphasize not only position but action of the character. Author uses motivations of struggle, competition and hunt in many works. "Kyz kuu", "Fight", "Hounds"- those sculptures need no explanation, it seems as if hunting dogs are close to get the hunted prey and a young man is taking kerchief from girl's hands.
Wooden sculpture of recent time seems more simple in comparison with sophisticated bronze. But this laconic forms simplicity is with dynamism that's essential in the genre sculptures of Chetverikov. At some cases the Master emphasize not the observable movements but internal emotions of the character ("Sholpan", "Lamb", "River", «Kiss»). One should pay close attention to "Kazakhs" collection - twenty small statuettes. Author tried to create original "sculpture illustrations" to the life of Kazakh people. Hunter with an eagle, akyn (story-teller) with dombra (national instrument), a woman milking the horse, a dzhigit (young man) saddling his camel - these and other images picture typical activities of nomad - kazakhs in their daily life. Author plans to create new images to this collection.
Chetverikov uses marble to create poetic images. Whiteness and nobility of this stone help not only emphasize chastity and charms of the woman's body. Using in this works collocations of well-known symbols; author generalizes images and creates works with each detail containing special philosophy notion. Thus "Epoch" depicts the development from epoch of Pisces to era of Aquarius. Epoch - is woman's body, pouring water on the fish - symbolizes gradual development into new era and at the same time keeping some features and properties of the former epoch in new conditions. "Alma-Ata" carries attributes of the city - tree, apple and irbis.
Constantly looking for new technical decisions, Chetverikov in some works matches different materials. For example in "Redbreasts" curly white stones really make an impression of the snow on the tree branches, and with the help cornelians bronze birds turn into real redbreasts. This approach sculptor uses in other latest works - "Foam", "Spiderweb", "Mermaid".
All the works of Chetverikov are of the sculptures of so called little forms. They are made for the interior and sized up to it. At the same time Alexey Nikolayevich is outstandingly work-loving, that allowed him in two latest years create numbers and numbers of laboursome pieces.
As the Master himself says, he considers the art as thorough process of not only search of the idea but also its detailed embodiment in material. Insistence and workability of the author in elaborating characters' clothes, matted horse crests, delicate threads on the leafs of the flowers help images become more complete and give them deep impression. At the same time, from the point of view of formal and official esthetics, it is hard to size up the art of Alexey Chetverikov into any limits. It is freelance, sometimes shockingly open and often naive. It is not completed calm of the master who found himself but it is thorough and honest search. That is essential quality of each and every artist anytime and any place.
From 1997 and on Alexey Chetverikov took part in more than ten exhibitions. In February, 2000 he organized his own exhibition, that was one of the most popular ones in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and received its recognition of the professionals and art-lovers in Kazakhstan. His works are in private collections of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Estonia, Kazakhstan.
In May, 2000 Chetverikov A.N. became a member of the Kazakhstan's Artist Union.
|
|
|