Artist Igor Ozhiganov was born on January 3, 1975 in the city of Yoshkar-Ola, Republic of Mari-El. The family of the future master had nothing to do with the world of art: his father worked as an electronic engineer, and his mother worked as a teacher at school.
Since childhood, Igor had a keen interest in the culture and mythology of Ancient Russia, and for one of his birthdays he was presented with a set of reproductions of paintings by the legendary Slavic artist Konstantin Vasiliev.
early years
Igor’s first children's works were copies of Vasiliev’s paintings, but with age, the artist begins to add more author’s vision and unique details to his personal work, sharply distinguishing his work from the works of other masters of “northern” painting.
In his school years, Igor constantly takes part in various art contests, as well as creative events, where he successfully acts as a decorator of sets and costumes for his classmates.
Factory work
In 1991, Igor graduated with honors from Yoshkar-Ola High School and moved to Togliatti alone, where he entered the Volga Technological Institute of Service. After four years of training, the young man is sent to practice at the Volga Automobile Plant.
The talented student is almost immediately noticed by the plant management, and Igor gets a permanent job.
After working for several months as an assistant technologist, Igor decides to move to Moscow and become a designer in one of the companies - this work would allow him to combine artistic vocation and technological skills.
Designer work
In 1999, Igor Ozhiganov moved to Moscow, where he got a job at one of the prestigious studios involved in the development of artistic design of logos of various companies and institutions.
The next ten years of the artist's life passed in improving the skills of working with graphic technologies. Ozhiganov perfectly mastered the methods of working with a graphic tablet, mastered computer programs on vector graphics.
While working in a design company, Igor took part in the creation of industrial design, helped develop interior design for residential premises.
Subsequently, Ozhiganova transferred to work in a more modern department, engaged in the development of web-design, as well as creating printing materials for various industrial companies.
Igor Ozhiganov’s fascination with Slavic mythology begins to run counter to the work that he needed to do, and in 2008 the artist decides to return to Yoshkar-Ola and engage in creative work professionally.
Creative career
After returning to his homeland, Ozhiganov decides to focus on the career of the artist and begins to actively develop new material. The master devoted a long time to the study of Russian folk ornament, principles and canons of the image of folk characters, and also delved into the mythological and mental culture of the Russian north.
A large number of works created by Ozhiganov at that time were not published due to dissatisfaction with the author of their quality and artistic level.
The early period of Ozhiganov's work is a copy of the works of Konstantin Vasiliev, and Igor copied not only the plots, but also the characters' poses, background elements or decorative patterns. The works of these years have practically not been preserved, and Igor does not consider the remaining copies to be shown to the general public.
After receiving a large number of skills in the field of technological design, Igor begins to experiment with the synthesis of electronic technologies and painting, trying to create works using a computer and a graphics tablet.
Experimental paintings by the artist Igor Ozhiganov can be found on old forums in topics created by the master himself.
Present
The most productive period for the artist was from 2014 to the present, when not only the level of his creative skill increased significantly, but also thanks to the successful sale of his works, the material position of the master improved, which allowed Ozhiganov to devote more time to working on each of the paintings.
Since 2016, the artist completely abandons the traditional style of work and begins to create his paintings using graphic technologies, which instantly affects the quality of the master’s paintings.
The series “Slavic mythology” by Igor Ozhiganov, begun by the master in 2016, has gained incredible popularity among fans of the ancient culture of Russia and the mythology of the northern countries.
Since 2017, the artist has become widely known as a recognized master of painting and an expert on northern mythology. Ozhiganov’s works are actively bought, published on frequently visited sites and in communities dedicated to the culture and history of Ancient Russia.
Theme of works
The paintings of Igor Ozhiganov are devoted to the themes of Slavic and Scandinavian paganism. The master depicts the gods of the ancient pantheon, illustrates scenes from myths, tales and legends of the peoples of Russia and the northern countries. The artist is interested not in everyday life or battle scenes, but in the culture, customs and mythology of the northern countries. Igor often depicts the gods of Scandinavia, Ancient Russia and nearby pagan peoples in his paintings.
The legends of the White Mountains, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and Russia are reflected in the beautiful works of the talented master.
Creative features
A characteristic artistic feature of Igor Ozhiganov's paintings is their gloomy tint. Igor works in sepia, which not only successfully conveys the atmosphere of ancient years, but also emphasizes the originality of the artist, his special author’s style.
Usually Igor depicts one or two characters in a picture, preferring portraiture and rarely illustrating battle scenes of past eras.
Despite the lack of a pronounced military theme, almost all of the artist's paintings are dedicated to the heroes, heroes or gods belonging to the heroic epos of the countries of the north.
Popularity on the Internet
Igor Ozhiganov’s paintings became very famous thanks to various online communities in social networks. The artist’s work is very popular among representatives of folk culture, paganism, neo-paganism, as well as traditionalists and nationalists.
At first, Igor exhibited his paintings on various sites and blogs. At one time, Ozhiganov even used the VKontakte social network, where he created a community to popularize his work on the Internet.
At the moment, both the page and the artist’s community have been deleted by himself, since Igor transferred all the rights to distribute his works to companies involved in the distribution of his paintings.
Popularity
Later, when the artist's work reached a significantly new level, various companies involved in the distribution of art became interested in his work. The well-known Rodoverny concerns “Perunitsa” and “Veles” actively distribute Igor’s work, make official copies of his works for sale, and release items of clothing and household goods designed with his direct participation.
The master’s work became widespread after his paintings began to be used as sketches by various craft workshops that transferred Igor Ozhiganov’s paintings to leather, plastic and metal products. Later, this type of activity acquired a large-scale commercial character, and the artist even created a number of works especially for their subsequent publication as covers for leather diaries, notebooks, or front surfaces of bags and sacks.
In addition to cooperation with various workshops, the artist also illustrates historical and art books, draws covers for albums of musical groups.
Criticism
At the beginning of his career, the artist was criticized for allegedly "the Nazi theme of his works," however Ozhiganov said that he was not a supporter of the ideology of Nazism and was not responsible for the actions of those personalities who use his paintings to promote prohibited ideologies.
Currently, the artist is included in the galaxy of famous Slavic masters, along with Sergei Bordyug and Konstantin Vasilyev.
Ozhiganov’s works are highly appreciated not only by historical and artistic communities, but also by ordinary fans of his art.
Among the "Slavic artists" Igor Ozhiganov is considered a unique master, whose work is distinguished by a special style and original vision of both the character and the plot of the picture.