Editorial

Dear Readers!

We are glad to present you the next issue of the “Art of Eurasia” Journal, the main theme of which is the upcoming 55th anniversary of the foundation of the Primorye State Art Gallery. Articles about a unique art collection located in the very east of the Eurasian continent ― in Vladivostok, you can read in the “Forum” section. We sincerely congratulate our colleagues, we are delighted with their projects, which gave them worldwide fame ― for example, the presentation in their halls of a painting by Botticelli from Florence. This could become the plot of a fairy tale, but this is reality, and we think that such an example will encourage other museums in our country to undertake similar projects.

Working with the articles of the gallery staff, we noticed how they love their work, their collection, how professionally and creatively they work with each artwork, organize various master classes, contests, and meetings with artists. And the collection of the Primorye State Art Gallery is an amazing treasury of the rarest pieces of art. It is important to note how carefully, bit by bit, historical evidences about the formation of art in the Far East are collected, how the names of remarkable artists return from oblivion, how works are found, restored and represented. Sometimes new acquisitions end up in the gallery's collection in a fantastic way, having made their way from the most unexpected places, for example, paintings by one of the first Far Eastern artists Karl Kahl, which were previously in private collections in Japan. The residents and guests of Vladivostok are very lucky with the Primorye State Art Gallery. In the “Vernissage” section we are pleased to present two interesting exhibitions of our colleagues ― “The Eternal Flame of Victory ― the Resonance of Generations” dedicated to the anniversary of the Victory, and the exhibition of Kim Koval to the 90th anniversary of the painter's birth.

Another important topic of the issue is in the heading “To the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory”. The terrible tragedy of the 20th century still resonates in the hearts of millions of people. We have tried to present the papers in the heading in such a way as to cover as many lines in art related to war as possible. A lot of artists, who defended the Motherland courageously and selflessly, with great hardships and sacrifices, became later masters of art, such as V.A. Zoteev. And despite all the tragic ordeals, art lived on and even enriched with new themes during the war and evacuation. Two papers are devoted to this ― about the artist I.V. Varzar and the art of scenography in Krasnoyarsk. Our authors talk about how the war was reflected in the work of Yu.I. Pimenov and how the hard times of war, experienced in childhood, became one of the main themes of one of the leading artists of Siberia G.F. Borunov. A triptych of the outstanding Ural graphic artist V.M. Volovich is dedicated to the exposure of fascism in its very origins.

The traditional heading “Art of the XX–XXI centuries” tells about two contemporary artists ― Pyotr Dik and Vladimir Melnik. Researches on the work of Pyotr Dik have repeatedly published in our journal, but his graphics are so diverse and full of subtle psychological nuances that will interest art historians and art lovers for a long time. But many will get to know Vladimir Melnik from Moldova for the first time. Both artists are contemporaries, and with all the dissimilarity in the subjects, in the techniques for the embodiment of the idea, their work is united by the search for artistic expressiveness and the displaying of a deep psychological image.

Our journal continues to publish articles from the fundamental work of the Indian academician Lokesh Chandra ― his “Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography”. This issue publishes material about the image of Udayana Buddha (or Buddha of Raja Udayana), known and especially revered in the Buddhist world. And, as it turned out, his image was found on the territory of our country ― in Buryatia. We hope that later we will be able to talk about this amazing phenomenon in more detail.

Recently, the scientific and publication activity of regional museums has increased. Unique albums and collections of works are published, and we are sure that this may interest many researchers and art lovers. In the section “Ex Libris” we tell about an album dedicated to the wonderful collection of the Kemerovo Regional Art Museum (now the Museum of Fine Arts of Kuzbass).

Our traditional heading “Academy News” again presents various art projects of the Russian Academy of Arts. They demonstrate the breadth of views on artistic creation. Thus, the exhibition of the unique heritage of the Old Believer culture, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Archpriest Avvakum, is replaced by expositions of contemporary artists, whose work has already been recognized as classics of Russian art ― P.F. Nikonov, G.L. Chainikov and others.

In an era of social upheaval, the question arises again: what can resist evil and calamities, what can enlighten the darkened minds of many people? There is actually an eternal answer to this eternal question: striving for eternal values, for Good, Truth and Beauty. And genuine art has always served Beauty, which, according to Dostoevsky, will save the world. We try to talk about this on the pages of the journal.