IRINA YAROSHEVICH
Irina Yaroshevich is one of the masters in the culture of traditional sculpture in St. Petersburg. Her career as an artist took shape at the end of the 1970s, during a new wave of innovation and a time when artists hoped for a renaissance of sculpture as an art form. The decisive new impetus in sculpture in those years brought together newly adopted genres, forms, techniques and served to expand YaroshevichХs "artistic sphere", opening the door to the new concept of "installation" space. Space itself became the central focus in the artistХs creative endeavors, particularly in her first well-known compositions "Portrait of Biantovskaya" (fire-clay, 1981) "Self Portrait" (bronze, 1987), "Boy with a Dog" (plaster of Paris, 1985). These works illustrate the inter-relationships between fluid sculpture and new materials, often with the introduction of color.
Gradually, the artistХs spatial perceptions of her own "artistic and historical" time have become very valuable to her. The theme and object of study embodied in sculpture is the Russian artistic culture of the silver age. Yaroshevich incorporates her historical conception and unique metaphorical depictions of her protagonists (the renowned works in the cycle "Anna Akhmatova" (plaster of Paris, 1990), "The Beginning of the Century-An Artist, A Poet, A Ballerina" (painted fire-clay, 1987) into a genre of the graphic arts affirmed by tradition. In addition, the "classical" tradition, as found in the European mono-portrait, the sculptures of Alberto Giacometti, and in the Petersburg tradition itself "Anna Akhmatova (bust, plaster of Paris, 1990s), "Portrait of an Artist", remain an important part of YaroshevichХs works. She constantly adopts the themes of this tradition.
All of YaroshevichХs works conform to her own idiosyncratic logic of artistic expression. Characteristic of her endeavors is a traditional view of artistic mastery. She first has a flexible conception and them gives them ideal form in material media. For the artist, this is a long and drawn-out process using sketches and drawings, where the movement of form is planned. Here, Yaroshevich also envisions the treatment of the depicted theme and the expression of color in the work. In the 1990s, the Petersburg school of art, to which Yaroshevich belongs, has been a somewhat isolated entity, a unique artistic tradition of its own, which is not in demand in the most recent art trends.
Margarita Kostrits, Curator, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Inna Yaroshevich was born in 1943 in Leningrad. She received her training as an artist at the I.E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1962-1967). She has worked as an artist with various sculpture media. She is a member of the ArtistsХ Union in St. Petersburg.
Her works can be found at:
The State Russian Museum
The Museum of City Sculpture in St. Petersburg
The State Theatrical Museum in St. Petersburg
The Krasnoyarsk Art Gallery The Russian Ministry of Culture
Solo Exhibitions:
1981 Р Museum of City Sculpture
1989 Р House of Friendship with the Peoples of Western Countries
1991 Р ArtistsХ Union
1995 - Museum of City Sculpture
1996 Р The Tsarskoye Selo Collection Museum
1999 Р Manezh Central Exhibition Hall