Surrealist Master Artist

Ryklin Vladimir

..A Master Artist

Vladimir Ryklin

I am so happy to present this interview and work to our readers.Vladimir Ryklin's work is a treasure on an equal level with Old Masters Hieronymus Bosch or Peter Bruegel. Each piece is layered with messages real and absurd and you could literally look at the imagery for hours trying to decipher what's going in the art and Vladimir's mind as he was creating it\.

When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I’ve always been drawing. As far back as I can remember I was holding a pencil. I’m a lefty, and it was considered a big defect on a child back then in the Dark Ages when I grew up, so they tried to make me “normal” by tying my left hand, so I could only use my right. Eventually they gave up, but my mom told me that I’ve been drawing since around 3-4 years of age. Nobody really cared about it.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I was a normal Soviet kid. I grew up in central Moscow. My first real tragedy happened when I was 8, when my paintings which I was hiding under the closet were accidentally irreversibly damaged by floor paint. I cried for a week…

Your style is very unique. Did you work on developing a style or is that what naturally came out of you?

When I started to study art, I quickly fell under the influence of some of the biggest masters of graphics: Beardsley and Durer. Later, my inspirations became Bruegel and Bosch. I think my style now is the result of the reworking and rethinking of the experience I acquired studying the tremendous heritage of those masters of art, combined with my own personal thoughts and inner luggage.

You worked as a commercial artist in the Central Commercial Art Bureau. How did that happen? Was that work under scrutiny of the government?

After graduating from my Art School one of my friends recommended that place, but its was known as hard to get into. However, after I showed them my skills in fonts, posters, and advertising sketches, I got a job. Don’t forget, it was time when there were no Word or Illustrator or Photoshop programs. Every word and every letter on posters were written by hand, and that was my main task there.

Like every enterprise in the Soviet economy the Art Bureau was of course part of the government system, so every piece of printed product was supposed to be approved by the authorities.

Why were you concerned about censorship of your personal art and what did you think would happen if the authorities found out what you were doing?

Working in a Bureau was a “job”... and a well-paid one, all things considered. But I could only create what was directly ordered by some other organizations, like Circuses, theaters, movie companies, and so on, whoever needed a poster. Again, they could only be a part of the

"I’ve always been drawing. As far back as I can remember I was holding a pencil. "

government system. Any attempt to get an order from a private party and sell my own art in the Soviet Union would be considered a crime. Did we young artists do it? Of course! But it was always a “black market” thing.

How did you escape Russia? Were you able to take your work with you or did you have to start again?

Approximately in 1974-75 I started seriously considering an escape. The only legal way to do it was through Jewish organizations who helped Jews to immigrate from the USSR. Demand was huge, but approximately every fifth person

was allowed to leave by the Soviet government. I got lucky, and my papers where approved. However, I had around 300 of my own works, graphics, oils, etc, which I couldn’t take with me. And then, some kind of miracle happened. One day, when I already had all my papers in order, and in about a week was supposed to leave Russia, I put all of my works in a briefcase and walk into the US Embassy in Moscow. Naturally, I was stopped by a Russian policeman by the front door, and he asked me where I was going. I would like to remind you its 1975, when a Soviet citizen could be thrown in a KGB prison just by walking CLOSE BY the US Embassy! I told the guard that I was an artist and that I had a meeting with the Cultural Attaché of the United States.

And he let me in! Without even checking my briefcase! Inside the Embassy I quickly got a meeting with one of the workers, whom I told my story, and said that approximately in a week I’m planning to be in the US, and maybe, just maybe, they can find a way to move my works to New York? If not, I said, I would be happy to present it as a gift to the United States Government. They took it, and with an empty briefcase I walked out of the Embassy, saluted to the guard, and drove home… Two weeks later I picked up my paintings in New York.

What’s going on in your head when you work on a piece? Your fears, anticipation, confidence, etc. How do you know something is finished?

I don’t. Its never finished to me. If a painting is not sold by a certain time, I start having the urge to change things.

Your work is so colorful and exciting, full of intricate imagery. It’s almost as if your subconscious has spilled out on the canvas.

Yes, you can say that. Sometimes it starts as an image (or images), a shadow of my thoughts or even a dream. Indeed sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and start to draw or paint trying to capture that kaleidoscope I just had in my head.

I’m curious about how you choose what to work on. I imagine your process takes a long time to finish so it’s an important decision to decide what to work on. What’s does your process entail? Start to finish. Can you give us a short step-by-step?

I usually work simultaneously on several new paintings. In a beginning, it might be just a centerpiece, like a main character. I can leave it alone for a while and move to a different painting and subject. Then, after some time I come back to it.

Occasionally, I even might see a dream of that character started living its own life, surrounding itself with other objects and communicating with me. I’m trying to capture all that right away.

How has living in America influenced your work? Has your success and living in the US changed you?

I was happy to finally do what I want and even making a living out of it! Later, working with David Letterman and others on TV shows was also a very unique and satisfying experience. Time is changing us all, of course, but I want to believe that even now, at 85 years of age, I’m still young enough to fulfill my dreams. God created me as an Artist, and I don’t want to disappoint Him, so I still paint!

How do you view the younger Russian artists of today still living in Russia? Do you think they have more freedom to express themselves or are they still fearful of reprisals from the government?

Of course, in Russia today you are free to paint whatever you feel like, but the big question is – what you going to do with that? Will you be able to participate in exhibitions or public showings? I’ve seen galleries that were attacked by government-sponsored guerrillas just because they dared to exhibit something that some authorities consider “degenerative” art. Sounds familiar, right?

If you could meet anyone in the field you’re in (past or present) who would it be and why?