Creativity of the artist Katya Medvedeva leaves no one indifferent. She burst with her paintings into the even life of the Soviet period of stagnation and broke the usual ideas about artistic styles. Her direction was called "naive art", but the artistâs work goes beyond the genre. They are closer to van Gogh's post-impressionism.
At the time of many prohibitions for âunsystematicâ creative people, immature attitude to her genre, personal disorder and periods of lack of money, she exhibited her works in Moscow, and instead of twenty days the exhibition lasted two months. They buy works and ask to write more. What was it? What is the phenomenon of this nugget?
Russian miracle
She did not learn to draw. Never. And very grateful for that. She herself admits that she would be kicked out of any studio, from any school. Many confuse the style and character of the artist Katya Medvedeva. She is far from naive. This is a mature spiritually and professionally person with an inner core and courageously defending his vision of art, his expression of the world on canvases.
The desire to tell other people about what she experiences, how she feels, what she breathes and who she prays for is her creative engine. Katya is well-read, her speech is figurative, she quotes classics - both writers and painters. In only one way is it similar to the others - in the matter of using God-given talent.
On this account, she has a favorite twelfth-century parable about six hundred draftsmen imprisoned in prison. Work continued only three hundred. When they were provided with wealth and excellent conditions, only three people worked.
Happiness Katya Medvedeva
âAn artist is then real when he cannot hold back the desire to paint,â Katya believes. She compares the process of creating the picture with prayer. When a person prays, does he really think about how much he will be paid for the prayer? It is the same when writing the canvas - thoughts must be occupied by God. Katyaâs paintings contain many angels, biblical stories. But there are many simple portraits, ballerinas, everyday scenes, cats. What does prayer have to do with it?
If we consider the artistâs creations as a repetition of what God created (because a person canât create anything, he only copies nature), then all the work of this original artist becomes a reflection of divine creations.
Katya says about herself that she is the happiest artist. Each picture is a spiritual holiday. They have a lot of good. Even about difficult things - the tragedy in Beslan or the post-war street children - her canvases are told in a very bright, pure language. September watermelons, a girl and two daggers above her head - either a halo or a halo.
The problem of the breakup of the family, abandoned children is expressed in the chicken, not keeping up with the rooster. âIâm your son, where are you running, Dad?â - such an inscription in a picture with irony raises a difficult question. Not condemning anyone, but inviting the viewer to think.
Inner core
Enemies Katya leaves. At first she was very worried and cried that her work was considered a daub. But she always received encouragement from those who liked her work. And she deduced a pattern - you throw a bad person, immediately a good one comes in his place. She perceives her persecution as evidence that she has the spark of God. Awareness of this brings joy and happiness. And next to a happy person, people around you become happy.
Katya thinks a lot about the purpose of the artist. What to say to envious people who call her unworthy of their paintings? She does not take offense, she only recalls how Mozart was considered unworthy of his own music. She just asks: âAnd who are the judges?â
âI will paint your paintings with my eyes closed,â once another artist remarked. Katya Medvedeva, recognizing her brush technique, sincerely did not understand how she could draw twigs in a ditch similar to worms. What for? What does she mean by this? And in this regard, to write about good that helps to live, she takes an example from A.S. Pushkin. Even quotes him in controversy:
I am delirious in my own way. Be all your own.
At the beginning of her career, she refused to paint mugs on the model, although the painting promised good money. âHaving spent time on creativity, I will draw a lot of my ownâ - was decisive in the choice between money and creativity.
Evaluation of creativity by specialists
Katya has been exhibiting since 1976. Started a few months after picking up a brush. And she does not buy this right, does not pay for the rent of the hall - no, she is invited, her work is being bought up. And professionals do it. When the paintings of the still unknown artist Ekaterina Medvedeva began to cross the borders of the USSR, they were amazed at customs: âWhy did the officer call another, more capacious word) money?â He was told that this is what you call it, but itâs brilliant for us .
In 1981 there was the first Moscow exhibition, in 1982, eleven of her works were shown to collectors by M. Chagall. He saw in paintings the same love of color as his. Appreciated her special handwriting and called Russian talent. In 1993, Katina's work was awarded a separate exhibition, and this happened in Paris. And next year they were already hanging next to the canvases of Matisse and Chagall in Nice.
In the end, she was given a certificate of assignment of category 2A. She received this document in 2013, and in it professionals recognized her as a colleague.
Now Katya Medvedeva has already lost track of her exhibitions. Many works have found their place in private collections. At her home are more than two dozen invitations from foreign colleagues. She lives in Moscow, in a small room, and writes her paintings at home.
Artist Biography
Katya Medvedeva was born into a peasant family. It happened on January 10, 1937. Mother with her husband and sisters Katya, Polina and Nastya, then lived near Belgorod. After dispossessing, they lost everything and fled to Golubino, where Katyaâs mother married her father. The family changed their place of residence, and visited the village of Shakhty. During the drought of 1946, it was decided to move to Azerbaijan. The father left the family and disappeared, soon mother and sister Polina died. Nastya handed Katya to the children's reception and left.
Katie has a picture âMy momâs sufferingâ. It depicts a country woman in a scarf tied under a chin. He goes into a halo, and her figure is enveloped in several colored contours. On the back of the canvas is a brief history of dispossession, murder of her husband, flight from the barn, into which she was thrown with a neighbor before execution. The mere phrase "of course, beat" says a lot.
Photos of paintings by Katya Medvedeva can be seen on her official website, where the artistâs phone number is indicated. She does not like to send messages over the Internet, preferring live communication. In fact, all of her paintings are the best autobiography.
Left without relatives, little Katya felt defenseless. She has a piercing quatrain:
Like fluffless dandelions
They were picked up here and there.
Children in different orphanages
Distributed by year.
She studied well, graduated from music school in the violin class. But it was necessary to think about a piece of bread, and Katya became a weaver in 1954 after FZU. Since then, she has been feeling fine fabrics. Can write on velvet and tarpaulin. Makes a panel, attaches the fabric to the canvas as a characterâs dress, decorates with jewelry. Six years of work at the loom were not in vain.
Personal life and love
At the end of 1957, Katya got married, and in 1961 the daughter Irochka was born. The artist admits that she does not know what it is - a happy marriage. She thinks she was unlucky. He explains this state of affairs with his difficult life. The fact that since the age of sixteen has to pay for everything. And she pays for everything. Katya does not like to depend on anyone. She has many paintings with the name "Freedom." How then to live? âEverything must be done honestly, with love,â the artist is sure.
The paintings of Ekaterina Medvedeva tell more about her than she does. This is âLove Overboardâ - a picture in which a couple hugs. These are swans diving down, a rooster running away from a chicken with chickens.
She talks a lot about love. Gives advice, not counting that teaches others. âMy advice is practical, psychologically,â she explains. Here are just a few of her statements:
- No one should be condemned, not even deserted people. We do not know everything about man.
- Blessed are the persecuted. And I'm persecuted, only happy about it.
- For evil people, their evil takes away their last joy.
- The kinder the person, the closer to the truth, that is, to God.
- Do not be warm, indifferent. Better to be hot or cold. By the silence of the indifferent, crimes are committed.
- You cannot be bought from God.
It attracts good people and is incomprehensible to selfish people. Helps everyone who seeks help. Therefore, I did not save up any money.
She is different
You can discuss âgrandmother with a paletteâ as much as you like, but who could turn life sharply at age 39 and stubbornly go to the intended goal under the whistle and clamor of ill-wishers? What she had to transfer, only relatives know. She once said to herself that she was always persecuted and, finally, expelled into art. She was not embittered, she was just used to taking nothing for nothing. Although sheâs ready to give the last.
The artworks of Katya Medvedeva are a result of her character. A consciously chosen service to people is to do good with canvases. To have the courage to be different from others, to endure sidelong glances. And at the same time be open to conversation, able to tell about yourself what others would prefer to conceal. This is from the purity of the soul.
Conclusion
She is still with us. She is 82 years old, and she still paints. There is an opportunity to talk to her on the phone, buy her picture, visit her in a Moscow room. The paintings of Katya Medvedeva are already of great value in the eyes of foreign collectors. Many are sold for 15-60 thousand dollars. She herself does not see this money and warns of dishonest people, giving names. While there is still time, support her, go to the exhibition or write a letter. She needs it.