Nizamov Robert

Biography

Nizamov Robert
20.04.1970 was born in Kazan, Russia
1985-1992 Studied in the Kazan Art school at teachers Hamidullin A. G. and Vagapov M. A.
1992-1998 Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov (the Surikov art institute in Moscow)
workshop of theatrical painting of Kurilko-Ryumin M. M, Lebedeva R. I.
and a workshop of monumental painting of Maksimov E. N, Lubennikov I. L.
Since 2001 a member of the Moscow Union of Artists.
Lives in Moscow, Russia.

Movement of painting. William Mayland

In his short essay, Moscow artist Robert Nizamov notes with regret notes that "real painting has disappeared from our lives. It is practically absent, both in official showrooms and in modern art galleries." But, having partially disappeared in the outside world, painting blossomed in magnificent color in the works of the artist himself, testified to by the wide range of the landscapes by Nizamov in different cities and countries. Of course, as a professional painter and graduate of the V. Surikov Moscow State Academy of Art Institute, Nizamov also works actively in other fields and styles of the fine arts (portraiture, still life, interiors, nudes, murals). However, in terms of the quantity and variety of works, the landscape considerably prevails, incorporating the main stylistic and formal explorations of the artist over the last twenty years.

The influence of classical French Impressionism and some of the subsequent movements in world painting at the turn of the century is obvious in Nizamov's creative output. And this doesn’t mean any kind of literal following of specific masters. The artist is interested in the substance of painting in all its forms. In particular, since the middle of the 1990s, he has painted a number of almost abstract works (Wall, Autumn shadows, Stones, Surf, Olive grove) where the figurative almost completely gives way to viscous colorful elements. The artist is not too worried about whether this or that place is recognizable. The vegetation, the details of the architecture or any other components of a landscape are secondary for him. The color defining a season or a day, and consequently the condition of the artist, immersed in the contemplation of the color and light of the air space, are what predominate. Representing, for example, the Moscow bridges – the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge or the Crimean Bridge - the artist is absorbed by a game of patches of light on the river and the glow of fires against the evening or night sky. Distinctions in the designs of constructions in the landscapes are insignificant. A colorful, enchanting spectacle, intensive brushwork, impressive variety – these are the foundations for these canvases.

The geography of Nizamov’s landscape painting begins with Kazan, where he was born and studied from 1985-92 in the city art school. His subsequent life in Moscow, trips across the country and beyond its borders considerably expanded the range of his natural environment.
In the winter Kazan landscapes of 1996-97, the interest of the artist in the development of the color and light environment of the air can be distinctly seen. And if in a landscape of 1996 the viewer sees the concrete shapes of an old two-storey house, sheds and roofs covered with a thick layer of snow, in the landscapes of 1997 these have become light, illusive visions with the suggestion of snow-covered trees and almost indiscernible structures. In these rather early works, the artist in fact found his path and a painterly, impressionistic style of vision. Finding himself in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky near Moscow at around the same time in the 1990s, he created a broad range of sun-drenched summer landscapes, with boats and wooden bridges on the river Trubezh. Peculiar to these paintings is a liminal, picturesque dissolution - Garden (1995), Trubezh River (1997), - whereby he tries to portray the damp atmosphere with the morning fogs on the river, the main artery of the ancient city, loved so long by many generations of Russian artists.

Water is often present in Nizamov's landscapes. The sea, rivers, canals - anything that encourages reflection and dissolution. Reality doubles, splits up, loses its strong shape. This fragmentation considerably increases the fluidity and mobility of the painting. Something similar can be observed and in the work of the leading French Impressionists representing bridges, boats, scenes on the river and coastlines, ponds and lakes, overgrown with pondweed and water-lilies. It is enough to remember the late series of Claude Monet, which are especially fully presented in l’Orangerie museum in Paris.

The landscapes of Amsterdam painted by Nizamov in 2014 do not present any graphic information on this European city. Before us, there are only the viscous dabs of the brush, a combination of cold and warm colors suggesting the presence of water. The artist painted the extensive Yachts series around the same time, in which the sea shore and an abundance of mixed vessels and boats, with all their tackle and equipment, are more visible, reminiscent of the traditional realist pictures of maritime painters.
The landscapes of the Crimea (2014) and Mount Athos (2015) transport us to an atmosphere of heightened, sunny energy. The amber, wooden shade, the bright white walls of houses, the orchards of fruit trees and exotic vegetation of the southern climate - everything gives the impression that the artist has found a paradise. Garden. Decline, Persimmon. Mount Athos, Monastery of Dionysio, etc. - all these are a peculiar anthem to sunlight, underscored by transparent, cold shadows and heavenly blue.

The interior and the still life are relatively rare in Nizamov's creativite output. The spacious hall with high windows and a long table (Kuskovo, 1993), Chairs (1997), the still life Fishes (1994) and the almost abstract composition of 1997, in which flowers and jugs are freely scattered across the rectangle of the canvas - these are the few works that have been created by the artist in this genre, nearly two decades ago. The artist was not interested in the special selection of subjects and their conceptual placement. He simply came across subjects as they happened to exist and in his characteristic free style, created a quick, energetic impression.

Four grisailles of 1997 painted in tempera are portraits in an interior: Three persons, Old Woman (two versions), and Model. Without the habitual distractions of color and decorative development in each of these compositions, the artist acts as an attentive psychologist, opening up the inner world of his protagonists. The fractured brushwork against the background of translucent white paper allows each genre scene to “breathe". In fact, these represent not so much the artist’s habitual, painterly Impressionism, but a graphic Impressionism, expanding our impression of Nizamov’s flexible capabilities.

The nudes from a relatively early period of his creativity (1994-96) and the portraits of 2011 represent two further kinds of movement and unexpected directions in the artist’s painting. The almost pointillist manner in which the cold, light blue paint is applied to the two vertical nudes of 1994 sits harmoniously alongside the orange-pink and light green haze, on the warmer side of the color spectrum, in which the portrait of the other nude was performed.

As for portraits - that is, the large male and female heads - these are represented literally at point blank range - eye to eye. The background is almost absent. The oval of the face simply does not fit within the confines of the canvas. These are also not completed in his habitual style of subtle and gentle Impressionism, but with a real, harsh expressionism. The tension is especially noticeable in his portraits of elderly people, whose gaze is difficult to hold. We can only guess why such a "medical" experiment was necessary for the artist. Something similar occurred in the first 20-30 years of the 20th century in the art of the German Expressionists. Moreover, the path that Nizamov had followed up to that point did not point towards such a "change of hand" in any way.

But the real revolution in the artist’s painting happened in the last three years, with the appearance of the etudes and more substantial works united by the subject of rural life. Cows, goats and horses are painted in an especially realistic manner. The bodies of the livestock literally shine with warm light against the dark background of a shed or among the greens of fields. The seas, yachts, gardens and mountains of the Crimea and the Caucasus, not to mention the "old stones of Europe", seem infinitely remote and incompatible with the rural day to day occurrences of Central Russia. Meanwhile, the years when the southern landscapes were painted coincide with the rural poetry and prose. In this case, it is certainly not a matter of geography, but a sharp division in artistic ideology.
Perhaps, the artist tired of his habitual foggy diffusions and precious flickers of paint, and there was a desire to paint something natural and alive. In particular, the artist represents horses extremely precisely, with all the details of the harness and cargo. Numerous etudes of gentle nanny-goats, gilded on a dark green background, speak of an enthusiasm for the atmosphere of the rural idyll which presented the artist with new, fresh impressions.

A separate discussion should be devoted to the unusually large (214 by 472 cm) horizontal canvas Village. In terms of both its size and the care with which it is executed, it is truly monumental picture, in which the main subject is a cow painted nearly full-scale, peacefully striding across a fenced shelter, reflected in a green-blue pool in the center of composition. It is striking, with what level of detail the surrounding landscape and the even the earth in the foreground and the background is painted, down to every stalk of straw and every rough patch of soil. A truly epic picture, which even the most captious representatives of the Russian Realist school would approve, from the members of The Union of Russian Artists at the turn of the century to such Soviet classics as Arkady Plastov or the brothers Alexey and Sergey Tkachyov, and other masters developing the subject of the Russian village.

Looking back at the twenty-year path travelled by Robert Nizamov, it is possible to draw conclusions not only on the variety of its painting, but also on the unpredictability of its development. The artist does not limit himself within a tried and tested framework, fairly claiming that "real painting should not become the hostage either of the art market, or of modern trends. Just like original music, it has to be born not according to demand, not to order, but because it couldn't not be born".

William Mayland
Moscow May 2016