Blue Porcelain (diptych), oil on canvas, 190 x 190 cm

artist

“My work is based in history but I am conscious of bringing it into contemporary reality... In this way I am creating my own mythology based on my own imagination and what I read in books and from places I travel”- Timur D’Vatz

Hay Hill Gallery is proud to present Russian born artist Timur D’Vatz, one of Central Asia’s most successful figurative painters. Born in Moscow in 1968 to artist parents, D’Vatz grew up in a bohemian family, completing his studies at the Republic College of Art (Uzbekistan) and London’s Royal Academy in 1996. He has since won several awards including the Guinness prize for First Time Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, 1994; the A.T Keany prize, 1996; and the B.P Portrait award at London’s National Portrait Gallery, 2002.

Drawing mythology from his own studies into Eastern and Western spirituality, D’Vatz’s emblematic works are meticulously detailed. He fuses vibrant byzantine colours with the ancient culture and traditions of Central Asia to create powerfully iconic images. Peering into these metallic panels we are drawn into darkly oriental fairytales with velvety horses and mossy gold forests. Crowned with pallid faces and crescent moon eyebrows, the elegant fairytale creatures lure us into hauntingly mnemonic landscapes.

Many of these dreamy scenes feature the timeless metaphor of the chase. Illuminated by their bejewelled hunting robes or the glittering eyes of wild animals, these hunters close in around their prey. D’Vatz believes that through telling and retelling familiar stories we can ‘find rejuvenation in the eternal youth of the ancients; in core ideas that do not lose meaning as time passes but rather gain new significance with each historical transition’. D’Vatz leads us through the paintings, deeper into the subconscious mind, on a spiritual voyage between the traditions of east and west. Leaving a trail of richly illustrated pages scattered in his wake, D’Vatz’s eternal quest is about retelling the same stories to better understand ourselves.

The Journeys and Legends exhibition will be held alongside a group show and a sculpture collection which features works by Eleanor Cardozo, Nicola Godden, Richard L.Minns, Andy Cheese, Jamie McCartney, Ian Edwards and Palolo Valdes.

This December, Hay Hill Gallery presents the Russian born artist Timur D’Vatz, one of Central Asia’s most successful figurative painters. The fantastical exhibition Journeys and Legends will run from the 2nd to the 31^st of December 2013 alongside Hay Hill Gallery’s sculpture collection and the Group Show which can be viewed in the Lower Ground Floor Gallery.

Drawing profoundly philosophical thought from his personal studies into mystical, biblical and Celtic mythology, D’Vatz’s emblematic works are meticulously detailed. He fuses vibrant byzantine colours with ancient culture and the traditions of Central Asia to create powerfully iconic images. Luminous winged stags with bronze flags guard black panelled doors; ghostly cities are embroidered upon clouds. Mist settles eerily about oddly tall hunters as dust billows up from galloping hooves. These elegant mythical creatures lure the viewer into a hauntingly mnemonic experience.

Evening Hunt is a Russian fairytale with a dark oriental gleam. The velvety forest background takes a mossy golden sheen, enveloping the hunters that stand apart like trees. These strange figures bend gracefully forwards like stalks of corn swept under the silky sky; their elongated bodies are crowned with pallid faces and crescent moon eyebrows. Illuminated by the fiery flicker of bejewelled hunting robes, watched by the glittering eyes of wild animals, the hunters are gathering up their prey. The stylised lengthened forms of the figures sketch out a woodland setting; birds perch on an outstretched arms as though they were simply sat on branches. The calm scene suggests the stealth of the hunting party and the helplessness of the stag. Deep red costumes bring up ideas of ritual; the theatrical symbolism and an inevitably tragic ending. Many of D’Vatz’s dreamlike creations feature this timeless metaphor of the hunter and hunted, so we can ‘find rejuvenation in the eternal youth of the ancients; in core ideas that do not lose meaning as time passes but rather gain new significance with each historical transition’.

Drawing from ancient Sufi teachings, these metallic panels take on soulful resonances, leading the quest deeper into the subconscious mind, a spiritual voyage between the traditions of east and west. Journeys and Legends presents us with D’Vatz’s ongoing musings, a trail of richly illustrated pages scattered in his wake as he wonders aloud about who and what we are.

Timur D’Vatz is one of Central Asia’s most successful figurative painters. Born in Moscow in 1968 to artist parents, D’Vatz grew up in a bohemian family, completing his studies at the Republic College of Art (Uzbekistan) and London’s Royal Academy in 1996. He has since won several awards including the Guinness prize for First Time Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, 1994; the A.T Keany prize, 1996; and the B.P Portrait award at London’s National Portrait Gallery, 2002.

E-mail: info@hayhillgallery.com