Ilya ShenkerPost Soviet Avant Garde Russian Woodcut Print With Hand Watercolor Painting, c.1960s

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This depicts a wedding scene in a style of German Expressionism. hand signed and hand painted in watercolor.
Ilya Shenker, … Read more This depicts a wedding scene in a style of German Expressionism. hand signed and hand painted in watercolor.
Ilya Shenker, Russian/American (1922 - )
As a soldier in World War II, he survived where millions perished. Upon returning to his home town of Odessa, felt abandoned and alone. He studied Art and Architecture in Odessa, but, one of a number of Russian Jewish artists allowed to emigrate, he left for America when the opportunity arose. He settled in New York City, a choice that has forever impacted his oeuvre. Many of his pictures depict New York cityscapes and lifestyle; however, they remain typically Russian. His subject matter often comes from memory and includes the life that he left behind, family, and friends. Drawing upon his Jewish heritage for inspiration, Shenker also paints historical events, such as "On the Eve of the Assault" in which he portrayed the last night before the destruction of Jerusalem. He has also illustrated a number of classics of Russian literature including Alexander Pushkin. His use of imagination also applies to the figures in his expressionist paintings—fictional characters such as the Spanish literary character Don Quixote make appearances in his work. He has also placed figures such as Rembrandt and Picasso in modern settings: in "Rembrandt Visiting our Family," Shenker sits his most favored artist at his family table, in a tribute to someone he describes as a "peoples artist." He is one in a long line of great Soviet Russian Judaica Jewish artists beginning with Yehuda Pen, who founded Russia's first art school for Jews in Vitebsk in 1897 continuing with his students, including Marc Chagall and El Lissitzky, Natan Altman, Leon Bakst and Robert Falk, Issachar Ber Ryback and in Abraham Manievich and later to Isaak Brodsky and Grigory Shegal Ilya Kabakov, Komar and Melamid, Erik Bulatov and Leonid Lamm. Ilya Shenker has exhibited works all over the World, and held numerous shows here in the United States. He also has permanent works in several Russian museums. See less