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Suburbs of Jerusalem. 1980 |
The rhythms of our street. 1993 |
Song of Songs (5,1). 1994 |
The Rape of Europe 1978 - 1987
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 What's
the riddle? A retrospective exhibition by Aaron April in Moscow
Some hundred oils and water colors are now
being exhibited at the Tretiakov Gallery, Krymski Val,
Moscow, by Aaron April, Lithuanian born, formerly of Russia,
and now living in Jerusalem. These biographic details
of the painter's life are not merely another confirmation
of life having been difficult in the Russia of 1970's,
they are necessary to better understand the nuances of
his art. His color scheme, compositional construction
of his works, his calligraphy, the dynamics and expression
of his strokes. All of these are unified by the atmosphere
within which the painter lived at the time. Therefore
Israel is a key-word in April's biography and artistic
development. Later, other words of this creational cross-word
puzzle began to line up around this key-word:
"I" -Irreality. Fantastic,
enigmatic environment, into which the painter immerses
the observer. This term, however, is conditional, since
the atmosphere pf the painting is unreal for the viewer,
while for the artist himself, it is an existing thing.
His canvases, like mosaics, shine through all the colors
of a rainbow. The strokes are firm and dynamic.
"S" - Sight. His images
are readable. The artist models them like a sculptor,
They emerge gradually, bit by bit, out of a host of strokes,
lines and dabs.
"R" - Riddle. The artist
plays riddles with the viewers. A random glimpse at his
canvases allows the viewer to appreciate the subtlety
of his color scheme, and also his unsurpassable handling
of the brush. April's unique style captures the viewer
right at the beginning. We submit to the influence of
his dynamics, and only then seek the meaning and the sense.
In order to absorb April's paintings, one has to step
far, very far back from the canvas. Only then, the images
begin to emerge. His works are a chain of riddles to be
guessed by the viewer in order to understand the opus.
Having outlined one image, the viewer clings to the possibility
of finding the final answer to the riddle.
"A" - Atmosphere. April's
creations live in a space of their own. This atmosphere,
first and foremost, is musical - slow and melodious, but
each compositions contains culmination and a core of the
basic melody, be it a dab of color, or a compositional
crossroad. |
"I" - Intimacy.
When left to themselves, the painting and the viewer begin
to develop an unique relationship. April's art is both
ornamental and intimate. It is in a sort of silk embroidery
that his paintings harmoniously add up to.
"L" - Lyricism.
Together with being expressive and dynamic, April's works
are also lyric. The brightness and the wide range of their
colors do not prevent the artist (nay, they help him!)
from conveying his own attitude and feelings towards the
images he creates.
"Miagkii znak" - a unique Russian phonetic sign,
unknown in other languages. In April's art, this voiceless
sign not only acquires its sound, but its numerous variations,
containing melody, dynamics, mood, deliberation, dynamics,
the stormy construction of composition and his unique
hand. April fills this mute alphabetical sign with plenty
of content and meaning.
The art critics associate April with the painters of 1960's.
But it is impossible to speak of him as a representative
of the "grim style". I may be more appropriate to see
April in the company of the USSR painters of the 1960's
such as Minas, Avetisian, Torgul, Narimanbeckov, a glorious
group of pioneer artists, whose works are characterized
by the fullness and variety of colors. Their palette is
colorful and bright, in distinction from the general tendency
of that time to paint in bleak colors and depict stern
images. There is no doubt that the time left its mark
on April's art. His heroes are rarely in contact with
each other. Their emotional restraint and, occasionally,
tension are always present one way or another in his works
of that period. After all April is a painter of his time.
The ringing and the fullness of the color are a reflection
of the country and the world the artist lives in. It is
not in vain that many Moscow painters are accused of being
miserly with colors and lack of emotion. The grey color
of the city does its work. The gloomier is the art of
the USSR painters of the1960's, such as Pavel Nikonov,
Tayir Salakhov, and others, the brighter and fuller are
the works of the painters of contemporary Russia and other
worlds.
Nayilia Roustayeva |
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In Heavens and on Earth (dyptich). 1997 |
Aharon April of today amazes
by his multicoloured, energetic, passionate paintings. Vigorous
,comprehensive palette, colours fighting each other or embracing
each other capture spectators, making them wonder, rejoice,
feel deeply. What are the subjects of his works? At first sight
it is fairly difficult to define them. Some of them, according
to the names, must be biblical, some worldly. But what is the
difference of the "Song of Songs" series or "Lot and his daughters",
or "A psalm is born", from "The prayer", "Awakening", "After
the masquerade", A black horse" ,Something about Grandfathers",
"Uneasy days"? All these works, both watercolours and paintings
may be regarded as one painting "Unconscious reality", futuristic
abstraction (1994). The essence of April's works is rather violence
of colour and its perception in connection with the world, the
universe, the human being, than some real, slighty caught things
and images. April's paintings are so multimeaningful, multifaced
and fantastic that they though they correspond to the name given
them by the artist, you yourself could give it ten or twenty
other names according to your own feelings. We find quite realistic
or relatively realistic works with understandable plot, such
as "The family", "Eve of Sabbath. Congregating at the Wailing
Wall", "Expecting the heir", "A house in Jerusalem", "Flowers
against the white", portraits of relatives, landscapes of Israel...
But here we also see fantastic palette, expression, passion
and the sense, found by the painter, wildness of colours, tornado,
and the artist finds himself his world, his purpose in the reach
colours. ...read
more
RETROSPECTWE OF AHARON APRIL IN THE STATE TRETYAROV GALLERY
by Evgraf Konchin |
1995 |
A
Feeling of Ascension
The Tretyakov Gallery | Artists On Artists
Dmitry Zhilinsky (Interview by Maria Fedorova)
The solo exhibition of Aaron April at the Tretyakov Gallery
coincided with the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the
State of Israel, where the artist has been living and working
for nearly 40 years.
A superb painter and graphic artist and an honorary member of
the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, April presented works highlighting
the complex evolution of his art. His oil and acrylic paintings
and watercolours are a key part of the artist's biography, "self-portraits"
of sorts, witness to the conflicts he has experienced in his
lifetime, to his states of mind and reflections. It documents
an uphill path to be ascended to reach the "Promised Land",
and the heights of spirit and craftsmanship.
20 years ago Ilya Kabakov in his distinctive style imaginatively
and aptly summarized the essence of April's art: "...Complex,
profound pictures with many layers of meaning ... That which
is at the depth lives long and that which is on the surface
has been created instantaneously and this is the reason why
the strange and painful link forms itself between the two varieties
of time, the one that is forever and the one that is today..."
Aaron April's art, which in a comprehensive philosophical fashion
synthesizes present-day realities in the context of the historical
development of our civilization, presents to the viewer a complex
narrative of the birth of the artistic image. His paintings
and watercolours trace paths that unite one with the mysteries
of the universe, and the spiritual, moral and aesthetic values
of humankind. They are luciferous and multicoloured, symbolical
and realistic at once. The brush touching a canvas or paper
turns the traces, the clots of paint into a living, fluid fabric
sparkling with colours, into an energy of feelings and meaning,
into a full-voiced and selfcontradictory picture of the time
and human passions. April's works sometimes resemble commandments
and parables, at other times, metaphors and grotesques; they
reflect the artist's inner world, his philosophy of life, his
credo. ...read
more |
1996 |
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The Songs of Songs (4,12) 1983,
Aquarelle |
Excitement 1970, Aquarelle |
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