Igor Kalinauskas: biography and work of a talented person

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Kalinauskas Igor is a composer, singer and theater director. He also established himself in the field of painting. On stage, he is known as Igor Silin (the surname belonged to his mother). In 1993, together with O. Tkachenko, he organized the vocal duet Zikr. In addition, he played in two Lithuanian performances - "Wedding" and "Strong Feeling".

Childhood and youth

Igor Nikolayevich was born in 1945, February 7, in Novgorod. From an early age, he showed an interest in drawing. One of his childhood works at that time ended up in a city exhibition. Kalinauskas came to a conscious decision to paint at a mature age. He never received a basic art education. Interest in theatrical art led Igor to the student ranks of the Institute. B. Schukin, where he studied directing.

Performances and psychology

In theatrical art, the artist works under the name Nikolaev. For 14 years, he directed 68 productions, which were attended by theatergoers from Ordzhonikidze, Vilnius,Astrakhan, Minsk and many other Soviet cities. The most popular performances were Phenomena and Arena.

Working in the theatre, Igor Kalinauskas got acquainted with P. Ershov's book Directing as Practical Psychology. Also, communication with A. Rovner and the text of S. Vivekananda "Raja Yoga" significantly influenced his development as a psychologist. Further fascination with non-traditional teachings, including Sufism, deprived theater director Kalinauskas Igor of the opportunity to stage performances on the territory of the Soviet Union.

In 1985 he went to Kyiv in order to find a job. At first, Kalinauskas was a coach-psychologist, chiropractor and masseur. In 1986, the artist collaborated with the Institute of Clinical Radiology and worked with the liquidators of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Later, I. Kalinauskas moved to Vilnius and organized a psychological support cooperative. After the collapse of the USSR, he became the author of many books. The most popular are “We must live”, “Alone with the world” and “We sit well”. These works have been translated into English, Lithuanian, German, Slovak and Czech.

First beginnings in painting

In 1997, in St. Petersburg, Kalinauskas painted a three-meter painting "The Chalice". By this time, the number of his works approached a thousand. Igor Nikolayevich's paintings were presented at 25 exhibitions in Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, the USA, etc. Some of his works are in private collections of foreign collectors. Studios of the artist under a pseudonymINCs are located in Bratislava, Kyiv, Moscow and on a Lithuanian farm.

The works of I. Kalinauskas are divided into three main genres: landscapes (“Turčianska Valley”, “Lone Wanderer”, “Easter Morning”), portraits (“Barbara”, “Enlightened”, “Arcadia”) and abstractions (series "The Last Supper" and "Traveling Stars"). The last one was established in 2005. In the paintings of this series, people are likened to stars, because both of them have the ability to generate entire worlds.

Ultra Violet Light

The artist created this project together with the Frenchwoman Isabelle Dufresne, who was better known in the world of painting as Ultraviolet. Ultra Violet Light consists of a series of paintings related to the image of light ꞉ flaming "wandering stars" and "cosmic embryos" by Kalinauskas, and the work "IXXI" by the muse of E. Warhol and S. Dali.

The basis of the creative collaboration between Igor Kalinauskas and I. Dufresne was light as a vital element. However, in the project, he is presented through a comparison of his vision of a man and a woman. Together, the artists explore the light present in sacred texts, through which universal truth speaks.

The project was brought to life in the form of postmodernism. Ultra Violet Light has become a kind of bridge between the modern and the ancient world, reality and myth, earthly and sacred. Also in the paintings are mixed philosophies, worldviews, languages, which, merging, form an explosion of light. The project was presented in Nice in February 2014 and in Berlin in September of the same year.

The Last Supper

Rethinking the famous monumental painting by L. da Vinci is a special theme in the work of Kalinauskas Igor. A series of paintings, on which the artist worked for many years, was called "INK" The Last Supper "꞉ Spirit, Body, Blood." The first demonstration dedicated to da Vinci's masterpiece took place in Milan in 2006. Later, the exhibition was presented in other cities, including Bratislava in 2011.

Nevertheless, the most accurate embodiment of the vision of the Last Supper by a contemporary artist is shown in the Lavra Gallery in Kyiv during the large-scale philosophical art project “2000 years have passed”. The series included a series of works depicting the faces of Christ and the apostles at the time of the biblical Last Supper. However, these paintings became only part of the installation, which also consisted of a graphic polyptych- altarpiece, pillars in the form of angels protecting the makeshift nave, and a large white table. During the exhibition, the compositions of the duet Zikr.

At the beginning of the last century, R. Wagner developed the theory of the unity of the arts. Since then, many artists have sought to achieve a similar effect in their paintings. Igor Kalinauskas, being an extremely versatile person, harmoniously combined performance, music, painting, sculpture and a book in this project.