Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving
The Opening Ceremony of ‘Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving’ exhibition will take place on the 23rd of March at 19.00 in Liechtenstein National Museum
This exhibition showcases the best works of contemporary lapidary art of the Urals dedicated to prominent historic figures. When watching them, the viewer is faced with a question that always remains relevant: heroes that we remember from history — who are they? We suggest to consider who these heroes are and definitely enjoy consummate mastery of stonecarvers who manage to implement in stone all the contradictoriness and heroism of the heroes.
We took a special approach, showing several interpretations of each character. The focus is certainly on the works produced by the stone-cutters from the Urals. To convey the mood and personality of the figure, to ensure credibility of poses and gestures, the rock has to be tooled carefully and meticulously. The master has to pay special attention to each and every fold of the garment and facial feature, which requires special virtuosity in carving hard stone.
Comments by art critics help take a closer and deeper look at each piece. Their aim is to direct the gaze of a demanding viewer looking at the sculpture: which artistic solutions are the most successful, which ones help reveal the properties of a particular stone to achieve the greatest effect, or which combination of minerals deserves special attention.
Historic comments present objective opinions that should not and will not be assessed and rated. It communicates to the viewer the historical context, introduces them to the hero’s biography, reasons and consequences of his acts. An excerpt from a contemporary’s memoirs can be found at the end of the information piece on each specific figure. From the broad range of materials available, preference was given to memoirs written by foreigners.
It is but natural that stone-cutters tap into history, and one cannot but see it as symbolic. Stone is usually associated with something solid, heavy, and reliable; thus, in most languages, a brutal person indifferent to others will be metaphorically described as someone with “a heart of stone”. In the hands of a professional lapidary master, minerals are transformed into a brittle, ductile, subtle material.
Visitors will find three-dimentions mosaics devoted to great person inclusing Alexander The Great, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Alexander Suvorov, Peter The Great. The series presents the very actual and modern of stone carving which is traditional Russian art.
The Opening Ceremony of the exhibition will take place on the 23rd of March at 19.00 in Liechtenstein National Museum. Speeches of welcome will hold the supervisor Alexander Shmotyev, the director of Liechtenstein National Museum Rainer Vollkommer, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Liechtenstein doctor Klaus Tschütscher, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation Alexander Golovin.
The exhibition “Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving” has opened in Liechtenstein
The exposition is displayed in Liechtenstein National Museum
Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving
The Opening Ceremony of ‘Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving’ exhibition will take place on the 23rd of March at 19.00 in Liechtenstein National Museum
The exhibition in Liechtenstein has opened its doors
July 9, 2015 — The exposition welcomes everyone in Liechtenstein National Museum until 18 October 2015.
Introduction
Today we are witness to the golden age of new media. Children now turn to computer games rather than reading or listening to audio books. That is probably why this exhibition of stone sculptures based on fairy tales is somewhat surprising. The question that arises is perhaps the following: Is there still a need for fairy tales or for the art of stone carving?
Stone carving: from concept to finished work
Hard stone carving is a truly unique art. On the one hand, the stone carver is an artist and a creator, who gives a hard and shapeless piece of stone a new life and a new shape. On the other hand, his most important task is to unveil and demonstrate what has already been created by nature: beauty, structure and the unique character of the stone. When it comes to working with stone, each piece requires this fine balance between creating and being guided by the material itself.
The exhibition catalog “Heroes. History in Ural Stone Carving” is published
The book is prepared specially for the exhibition, which opened on 23 of March in Liechtenstein National Museum: the reader will find all stone sculptures presented in the exhibition in the catalog.
Exposed stone compositions
August 25, 2015 — The ‘Exhibition’ section provides all stone carving compositions, forming the Legends and Fairy tales in Ural stone carvings exhibition.
New exhibition opened in Vaduz on 8 July
July 8, 2015 — The opening ceremony of ‘Legends and fairy tales in Ural stone carvings’ exhibition took place on 8 July in Liechtenstein National Museum.
Legends and fairy tales in Ural stone carving
The Legends and fairy tales in Ural stone carving exhibition showcases the best hard stone sculptures dedicated to fairy tales, mythological figures and epic heroes. Folklore has always been part and parcel of Russian culture — from ancient times to the modern day. Writers and artists find inspiration in folk tales and the Russian language itself is full of references to stories and images that are well known to Russian people from early childhood.
Five Centuries of Three-Dimensional Mosaic
The history of stone carving in the Urals dates back to the time when Peter the Great was reforming Russia. Over the three hundred years of its existence, this art has changed but it has always had surprisingly close ties with Western European practices in stone-cutting.
The book about stone carving picked up European award
“The Best Books of Liechtenstein 2015” award was given to the book “Legends and fairy tales in Ural stone carvings”
Stone sculptures: creation
Roomple Internet video channel had visited the ‘Svyatogor’ workshop and made a film about the process of creation of stone sculptures by stone carvers.
The catalogue of ‘Legends and fairy tales in Ural stone carvings’ exhibition is available
July 6, 2015 — The catalogue in four languages will be available in Liechtenstein National Museum in Vaduz.
Hard stone carving in the Urals: a story with a new beginning
Hard stone carving developed intensively in the 18–19th century and the active exploration of the Urals — one of the most unusual Russian regions, rich in unique gems — played an important role in this process. The Ural Mountains, which gave the region its name, divide Europe and Asia and behind them lies vast Siberia. Historically, the development of this region has been linked with mining and naturally, such a diverse range of minerals and rocks generated a lot of interest in the art of hard stone carving.