Leonid Tskhe
10, “Meeting North-7” series
Lot 5 Year: 2016Material, technique: Paper, pencil, oil pastel
Size: 63 x 49 cm Estimate: $1370 Start bidding: $1096 SOLD FOR $1096
Leonid Tskhe was born in 1983 in Leningrad and studied in the workshop of book graphics at the Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after Repin. He illustrates children’s books on the side and teaches painting at the Academy, trying to rock the clumsy lunker of academic education. But it is for his contemporary pieces that he gained fame with his painting and graphics combining plasticity and vividness, sensual impulse and impeccable training, earning Tskhe a nomination for the state “Innovation” award in 2016. The “North-7 Meeting” series of graphics is a vivid expression of his style and method. These quick pencil sketches include Leonid himself: playing chess, in heated discussion, hanging out on the couch — the plot of the work as a whole can be interpreted freely. It’s a bold reinterpretation of academic drawing: realistic pencil contours are lubricated by expressive, deliberately fragmented dabs of paint. This combination creates a dynamic effect and what Leonid strives for: to create movement in static imagery, providing not just a “sketch of life,” but a dynamic, developing moment.