Fedor Konyukhov - Events

Fedor Konyukhov

28 March 2019—13 May 2019

The exhibition of works by Fedor Konyukhov starts at the St. Michael's Castle on March 28. The world famous traveler Fedor Konyukhov will appear for the first time in the exhibition as a professional artist. The exhibition at the St. Michael's Castle will feature more than fifty paintings and graphic works created over the past three decades. The documentary film, specially created by the State Russian Museum, will also be shown at the new exhibition. In this film the famous traveler will talk about his artistic manner and creative search.

Fedor Konyukhov is known all over the world as a brave traveler and a uniquely universal person who has set lots of records. He has crossed oceans in a rowboat and under sails, succeeded in air navigation, reached polar lands and the highest peaks of mountains. However, this aspiration for achieving new frontiers and broadening the extreme limits of human capability Fedor Konyukhov combines with contemplation, self-understanding, austerity and a highly concentrated prayer as a “smart doing”.
Two hypostases of Fedor Konyukhov - an adventurer and an artist – always have coexisted in harmony. Konyukhov studied carving and inlaying at Bobruisk’s Professional and Technical School, in 1983 he was admitted to the Soviet Academy of Arts as its youngest member. Fedor Konyukhov also became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists in the graphic arts division and in the sculpture division as well. He is an honorary member and gold medal laureate of the Russian Academy of Arts. Konyukhov has created 3000 pieces of art  and participated in more than 100 exhibitions.

Fedor Konyukhov was ordained a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. After every around the world journey he constructed new chapels all around   Russia – from the Azov Sea to the Far East. The chapel of Holy Righteous Warrior Feodor Ushakov is being currently built in Sevastopol.

His artistic activity as a painter, graphic artist, and sculptor is not to be separated from his countless adventurous explorations. During his life-threatening solo journeys over oceans, his breathtaking climbing Mount Everest, and his long journeys to the Northern and Southern Poles he made various artistic sketches. Then in Moscow, summing up the results of his expeditions Konyukhov created litographies, etchings and paintings.

Konyukhov`s  early works, such as “Storm (Fresh Wind)” (1982) and “The Deerslayer” (1989) lithographies and the “Near Taiwan shores” painting (1989-2006) are deeply affected by his impressions of wild nature.
His later works show a strong inner development. The author demonstrates the wildness of the vast space that he sees, at the same time trying to fill this space with deep and emotional content. In his art Fedor Konyukhov frequently touches upon the images created in extreme situations.
 
These are images of his consciousness, imagination and speculation. Sometimes they seem to be absolutely symbolic (“Red seagull”, 2016; “Whale”, 2017; “The Himbas”, 2018), but quite often these visions bare a religious hint (“Apostle Peter at the Gates”; “Warrior: the Beheading of John the Baptist”, 2017). Other works demonstrate the infinite confrontation between soul and body (“Doubt”, 2012; “Passion”, 2017). All in all, the personal experience that we feel in these pictures is absolutely unique.  
   
Fedor Konyukhov has always dreamt about an exhibition in the Sate Russian Museum. Now the traveler is sailing in a rowboat to Cape Horn, but he hopes to finish this part of expedition on time and visit the opening of the exhibition at the St. Michael's Castle to present his works in person.

The exhibition will be on display till May 13.