The Hant Collage

Yuri Vasiliev Curriculum Vitae Yuri Vasiliev, the painter and engraver, was born in 1950, in St.-Petersburg (Leningrad) in family of the artist. He received his diploma of academy of Fine Arts of St.-Petersburg (Institute after I.E.Repin). His field of study was engraving, but the spectrum of his artistic practice is much wider: he paints in oils, acryl and especially loves watercolor paintings. Among various themes of works the main topics are lyrical, epical and thematic landscapes with the elements of architecture and ethnography. Yuri lives in Northern Russia and for this reason his art has two favorite themes - the North and the Sea. However, for Yuri the North is more than only a geographical concept. His far ancestors were seamen from Arkhangelsk, his great-grandfather was an admiral of a fleet and has sailed through all the seas. Yuri has been born into a family of artists and this, combined with the traditional passion for the Sea, gave him his poetic perception of the North. Yuri Vasiliev travels a lot, but the strongest impression came from his journey to Lofoten, northern Norway. His work and vision of the Northern Lands was influenced a lot by living and working in the nature, meeting artists and experiencing their original style of a life. This inspired him to create over 30 watercolor paintings which he has exhibited in Russia, Finland, France, Germany and Poland. Other part of his artistic potential derives from the curiosity for the history and culture of Western Europe. Russians say: "The one who does not know the past - has no future", and through the characters of his paintings - wanderers, beggars, minstrels and musicians - Yuri projects himself and his traveling experiences. The color pallets of Provence, north Italian landscapes or the Alpine slopes encourage the artist to express his color predilections. Every year this series replenishes with new images. Last years Yuri Vasiliev has made many artistic travels across western Europe. The organization and carrying out of seminars and "plein-air" (outdoors) painting sessions in cities of northern Germany became a prominent element of his professional activity. With a group of artists - friends and like-minded colleagues they arranged numerous master-classes, workshops and exhibitions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.