Iulian Mitrofanovich Rukavishnikov
Iulian Mitrofanovich Rukavishnikov (September 29, 1922, Moscow – December 14, 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian sculptor. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1988.
Biography:
He studied at a flight school together with V.I. Stalin. In 1952, he graduated from the Moscow State Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov (sculpture department). He was a student of A.T. Matveev and N.V. Tomsky. Even as a student, he received a commission through Vasily Stalin to create a project for a monument at the grave of Ekaterina Geladze in the Mtatsminda Pantheon.
Together with his son A.I. Rukavishnikov, he was at the origins of the “M’ARS” Gallery.
He was a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1978), and a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts (1997).
Member of the CPSU since 1970.
He died on December 14, 2000, in Moscow. Buried at Vagankovo Cemetery.
Family:
Father – Mitrofan Sergeevich Rukavishnikov (1887–1946), sculptor.
Wife – Angelina Nikolaevna Filippova (1923–1986), sculptor.
Son – Alexander Iulianovich Rukavishnikov (b. 1950), sculptor, People's Artist of Russia.
Grandson – Philipp Alexandrovich Rukavishnikov (b. 1974), sculptor, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Awards and Titles:
Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1970)
People's Artist of the RSFSR (1978)
People's Artist of the USSR (1988)
State Prize of the Russian Federation (1999) – for the sculpture cycle “Nature (evolution and transformations)”.
Lenin Komsomol Prize (1978) – for creating the obelisk at the site of Yuri Gagarin's and Vladimir Seryogin's death in Kirzhach district, Vladimir region.
Order of Honour (1997) – for services to the state, significant contributions to strengthening friendship and cooperation among peoples, and longstanding productive work in culture and art.
Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1982) – for contributions to the development of Soviet visual arts and in connection with his 60th birthday.
Order of Friendship of Peoples (1993) – for significant contribution to the development of fine arts and strengthening international cultural ties.
Medals.
Silver medal of the All-Union competition of the International Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow (1957).
Works in collections
Iulian Rukavishnikov is the author of monumental monuments in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Bryansk, Nizhny Novgorod, and Tver.
Exhibitions and auctions
1957 – Exhibition. Japan;
1961 – Exhibition. USA;
1971 – Exhibition. Austria;
1975 – Exhibition. Brazil;
1984 – Exhibition. Spain;
1988 – Solo exhibition. "M’ARS" Gallery, Moscow;
1991 – ART MYTH 2. Moscow International Art Fair, Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", Moscow.
Critic
Iulian Rukavishnikov was a master well known in the 1950s–70s for his monumental and easel works. He confidently held the position of traditional realism, distinguished from many of its adherents by his sense of form, volume, and high professionalism. Over the past fifteen years, a distinctive cycle, represented in the "M’ARS" Gallery collection, has gradually formed. Thematically, it is devoted to fauna and flora. In his works, natural, real forms and species, captured in sparse yet precise details, harmoniously coexist with forms born from the artist's imagination...
Studying and admiring the whimsical freedom of play in nature, Rukavishnikov sees in it common laws as well. Grasping the mysteries of the universe, the sculptor creates a series of works tending toward symbolic structure...
E. Yureneva
Bibliography
"M’ARS" Gallery catalogue
