Boris Parkhunov
The Russian painter Boris Parkhunov was born in 1938 in Astrakhan*.
He began to draw at an early age and his childhood infatuation shaped his further destiny. In 1962 he graduated from the Moscow-based Surikov** Art Institute. When a student, Boris Parkhunov brought his name into the public eye for the first time at the Young Artists Exhibition. From that time on, in three decades of his creative activity, he has produced hundreds of canvases.
Perhaps, the most difficult and important thing for a young person aspiring to become an artist is not so much to master technical skills as to find his own style and his own theme in art. This takes years or even a whole lifetime. But here too Boris Parkhunov proved lucky. And it is only logical that museums eagerly obtained his works, including the Tretyakov Art Gallery. The majority of his canvases have been purchased by art-lovers from the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Cyprus, India, Japan, Colombia, Australia, to name but a few.
The artist's works were displayed at many exhibitions. In 1989 his canvases were viewed at the International Art Exhibition in Japan (Tokyo), in 1990 — at the Contemporary Russian Art Exhibition (Switzerland, Zurich), in 1991 — one-man exhibition (helped by his son) in Colombia (Bukaramanga), and at the Moscow Artists Exhibition (Spain, Oviedo) in 1992. One-man exhibitions were recently held in Switzerland (Grenchen) and Turkey (Istanbul).
The years of his creative activity have witnessed the birth of a world entirely of his own. Boris Parkhunov did not deliberately imitate or copy somebody else's style (true, in tracing the sources of his art some art critics invoke the trends of the late-19th-and-early-20th-century Russian painting school or even the Impressionists), he is a realist and paints from life. Trying his hand at big canvases with strong plots, at psychological portraits, still lifes, landscapes, Boris Parkhunov portrays the modest, unassuming landscape, the charm that is hidden in every Russian scene. He is particularly fond of the lovely scenery of Central Russia, where the artist lives and works for the greater part of his life. The artist takes pleasure in painting flowers in all their variety, beauty and fascination.
His works always demonstrate a richness of chiaroscuro and an impeccable technique. The optical effect of scattered light is startling — colours are infused with the breath of life. He paints not only in oils, but works with water-colours, pastel, and graphite also.
Boris Parkhunov believes that an artist, entering the sphere of painting, should learn truth and acquire perceptive emotional freshness. His creative thought always needs to experiment, a new application for traditional art. His pictures are for the intelligent viewer who is interested in realistic art, rather than in rational modernistic novelties.
* Astrakhan, a city at the mouth of the Volga.
** Vasily Surikov (1848-1916), Russian artist.