Konstantin Gorbunov. Biography and work of the artist

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

Light clouds, a subtle rustle of leaves, a breath of wind. Can everyone hear the wondrous beauty of nature? Will everyone be able to discern sensitivity, nobility or compassion in a proud, impregnable person? Maybe. But not everyone can transfer silence, melody, breathing or feelings of a person to the canvas. The works of Konstantin Gorbunov are an excellent example of how subtly a talented artist feels the soul of man and nature.

Short biography

Konstantin Yurievich was born in the family of the artist Yu. V. Gorbunov on November 25, 1967. Kostroma is his hometown. Already in childhood, his favorite toys were a pencil and a brush, the artist recalls. In kindergarten, he had a friend who also loved to draw. They were nicknamed "brush" and "pencil".

Father gave him a small sketchbook, almost like a real one. He always carried it with him, throwing a long strap over his shoulder. In his father's workshop, Konstantin couldstay for hours and draw, draw, draw. In those years, he worked with pencils and gouache.

Studied Konstantin at the Kostroma Art School. In 1983 Konstantin Gorbunov entered the art school in Yaroslavl. After college for two years, from 1987 to 1989, he served in the ranks of the Soviet army.

Konstantin decided to continue his education at the Academy of Painting, where he entered in 1991. He perfectly remembered his first meeting with I. S. Glazunov, who, before the entrance exams, looked at the work of applicants and decided whether to admit them or not, after which he approached Konstantin and noted his last natural work. The artist defended his diploma with the work “Portrait of Sergei Rachmaninoff.”

Behind my student years - plein air, copies. Ahead - the first creative work.

The way of the artist

The creative activity of Konstantin Yurievich began with participation in exhibitions held in his hometown. He connected his works with the Kostroma land, with native nature and the history of his region.

For more than twenty-five years, Konstantin has been engaged in creative activities, participating in collective and personal exhibitions. In recent years, the artist has created many paintings related to the history of his native land, covering several Russian regions and cities-custodians of unique historical and cultural monuments. They display the amazingly beautiful nature of the Russian hinterland, temples and monasteries.

The artist Gorbunov pays a lot of attention to painting from nature, draws inspiration from the environmentnature. Having watched his father's work since childhood, Konstantin sees beauty in the picturesque rocks of the Mediterranean, and on the banks of the Volga, in ancient streets and shopping arcades, in the golden domes of monasteries and temples.

The artist's favorite places are the Kostroma hinterland and the Moscow region. He does not part with his sketchbook even during his travels. Konstantin Gorbunov traveled with him to India and Montenegro, Greece and Croatia.

His works from the cycles "Historical Kostroma" and "Land of Kostroma" were presented at more than twenty collective exhibitions held in St. Petersburg and Moscow. According to the results of the Moscow-2008 exhibition, Gorbunov was awarded a bronze medal for his contribution to national culture. The Foundation "Cultural Heritage" awarded him a diploma for participation in the open air "Montenegro 2008".

In 2008, for his works dedicated to his native land, its history and nature, the artist was awarded the Order of Labor Valor. From the historical series dedicated to his native land, the artist created several works especially for the 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov Foundation.

On the anniversary of his native Kostroma region in 2009, Gorbunov created a whole gallery of portraits of the ruling people of his native land. To decorate the administration of the region, the artist used the multi-figure painting "Kostroma - the cradle of the Romanovs".

Konstantin Yurievich Gorbunov wrote more than a hundred graphic sheets and more than two hundred paintings. Artist's brushes belong to:

• series of portraits "Roads of War", "Destiny" and "Portraits of Contemporaries";
• series of landscapes"Image of the Northern Capital", "Croatia", "Streets of Novgorod", "Moscow Region", "Modern Moscow";
• series of paintings "Image of Childhood", "Birdyard", "W altz of Flowers";
• landscape cycles in Montenegro and Greece.

As the artist himself says, he is interested not only in the landscape itself, but in the world inhabited by man - a house, warm light, a laid table, children, ordinary things warmed by the warmth of a human soul. Gorbunov paints portraits not only of famous contemporaries, but also of those with whom he lives in the neighborhood - acquaintances, passers-by. Strives not only to truthfully portray a person, but also to understand his inner world.

Portraits created by the master

Studying in a portrait workshop within the walls of his native academy, where Gorbunov Konstantin studied since 1994, was also not in vain. Despite the fact that by this time Konstantin had sufficient experience in the technique of drawing and painting, here he received unique knowledge.

Gorbunov devoted a lot of time to the manner of painting by the old masters. He often visited the halls of the Hermitage and the Tretyakov Gallery in order to comprehend the unsurpassed technique of the classics of landscape and portraiture. Constantly improving, Konstantin worked out the acquired knowledge and skills.

Konstantin knows how to catch the resemblance. The spiritual world of a person will not escape the inquisitive gaze of the master. Skillfully reflects the artist and character traits. He is good at portraits.

Gorbunov painted portraits of his contemporaries: R. Kadyrov and V. Putin, V. Vasiliev and A. Zinoviev, portraits of Patriarchs Kirill and Alexy II. These works are included in the series "Destiny". The artist created a series of paintings of famous personalities in history: Y. Dolgoruky and A. Suvorov, M. Romanov and Nicholas I, Catherine II and Nicholas II.

Charming painting

Gorbunov Konstantin worked on monumental paintings in the churches of St. Seraphim of Sarov and Christ the Savior, in the New Jerusalem Monastery and in the Assumption Cathedral. Working with teams of artists, he gained valuable experience, according to the painter himself.

Passion for artistic painting prompted the artist's interest in translating creative ideas into private projects. Gorbunov's portfolio contains excellent wall and ceiling designs:

• "Great Hunt", representing the composition of the hunt for a boar and a deer. This magnificent picture decorates the ceiling of a country mansion.
• The landscape "Pine under the snow", made in oriental style, is discreet, refined, prone to finding harmony.
• Clafond "Flowers" above the spiral staircase, involuntarily making you see the blue sky. Butterflies fluttered from the flowers parted in different directions. Birds peek out from the dew-covered grass.

Gorbunov really tries to see the inner world, but not only the person. Under the artist's brush, the whole depth of nature is revealed. Who does not know the luxurious deep blue irises, contrasting with the dazzling green foliage? Konstantin Yuryevich in his painting "Irises" managed to convey all the tenderness of this flower, the lightness and joy of spring, the sensitivity and touchingness of spring flowers - a magnificent picture.

Landscape inperformed by Gorbunov is something special. Under his brush, nature comes to life, it whispers with the foliage of trees, murmurs with the overflow of rivers, plays with the golden rays of the sun. The artist's brush conveys the elusive breath of nature. Gorbunov masterfully applies this in artistic painting. Gorbunov's work "W altz of the Flowers" is mesmerizing. The flowers on the wall come to life and seem to be dancing, spinning in a w altz. Delicate pastel colors of the painting have at the same time some kind of invisible power. Looking at the painting, as if you feel the breath of the breeze, you hear quiet music and you feel the subtle scent of flowers.

Awards and exhibitions

The works of Konstantin Gorbunov were presented at collective and personal exhibitions, of which there are more than fifty. The artist's work has been marked by numerous awards, including a gold medal.

Now Konstantin Yuryevich transfers his knowledge to his students at the Faculty of Painting in his native academy, where he was invited to teach academic disciplines in 1999. Outside the walls of the Academy holds exhibitions, master classes, plein air.

Since 2006 Konstantin Gorbunov has been an Associate Professor at the Department of Academic Drawing. He works there to the present, sharing his experience with students who continue the tradition of realistic painting in contemporary art.