The
Eight Members of the Hermitage Group have
worked together for over 25 years, but were forbidden from exhibiting their work
in their own country until the reforms of glasnost.In one of the great ironies of postSoviet Russia, while their exposure at home has been minimal, they are now represented throughout the US. including San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Carmel, Aspen, Telluride, and Oxford Mississippi. - Tony Wolff
Trained in St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum, the artists were deeply influenced by the Old Masters as well as the Russian avant garde; their approach marginalized them from both the Social Realism of statesanctioned art, and from the trends and ideological movements of the antiSoviet underground. In the words of HG member, Sergei Daniel, "Our teacher could not reconcile himself to the extremes of artistic fashion and so was forced to seek asylum in the traditions of the past." However, while their work is imbued with a deep traditionalism learned at the feet of the Renaissance masters in the Hermitage, that influence is filtered through the dictates of the avant garde and a strikingly contemporary expressionism.
Noted art critic Peter Frank summarizes the paradox of the Hermitage Group approach: "While the work is essentially conservative, its very traditionalism gives it substance which distances it from the warmedover styles of most of the Russian artists we see nowadays. The very high quality of their work, in fact, reawakens the power of the past by making it viable in the present. It is, of course, a multiple past, one encompassing Titianesque atmosphere, Rembrandt's tonality, Repin's incisive precision, Van Gogh's high key angst, the rhythmic fracturing of cubism and futurism. But that very multiplicity makes the Hermitage Group quite uptodate, indeeddare I say it?Post Modern."
The Hermitage Group first came to the US in 1992, painting and exhibiting throughout California. The following year, a national tour sponsored by Louis Roederer Champagne, brought their approach to the attention of patrons and artists across the country. They have returned each summer, visiting various communities painting, teaching and exhibiting. A museum tour begins at the Frye in Seattle in Spring, 1999. That tour will feature "analytic interpretations" of Renaissance Masters' paintings, landscapes portraits and compositions from Russia, and current plein aire work from American venues.
The artists have opened one of the first independent art schools in St. Petersburg and during their tours of the US have taught in primary and secondary schools, as well as offering master classes for artists and university students. They have also hosted US artists and students in St. Petersburg for two week intensive workshops and museum tours.
In addition to their US and Russian activities, they have lectured and exhibited in France, Italy, and Hong Kong. We look forward to expanding their dialogue with museums, galleries, patrons, artists and students worldwide.
A Russian Documentary, directed by the Filmmaker Yuri Dvorkin, presents a one hour history of the group and its teacher. Originally broadcast over Russian television in 1995, it has been subtitled in English, and is available for $25 plus tax.
Please contact the group's US representative, Tony Wolff at tony@hermitagegroup.com for any information.
For more background, read the essays by Sergei Daniel and Peter Frank.
