Valery Grigoryevich Kokurin
Valery Grigoryevich Kokurin (December 11, 1930, Vladimir, Ivanovo Industrial Region – July 30, 2019, Vladimir) was a Soviet and Russian painter, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1980), and People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1998).
Biography
He was born on December 11, 1930 in Vladimir. He studied at an art studio and benefited from the advice of Professor N. P. Sychyov, the former director of the State Russian Museum, who had been exiled to Vladimir. Since 1954, he worked in restoration scientific and production workshops under the guidance of architect and restorer A. V. Stoletov.
From 1956, Kokurin participated in all regional exhibitions of artists. In 1957, he was admitted to the Art Fund of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR, and in 1960, became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. In 2005, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts. Communication with Moscow school painters at the creative dacha in Pereslavl-Zalessky and later in Gurzuf played a significant role in his artistic development.
In 1960, works by Kokurin and other Vladimir artists (V. Ya. Yukin, K. N. Britov) were exhibited in Moscow at the 'Soviet Russia' exhibition, after which the Soviet Union first began to talk about the Vladimir school of landscape, the 'Vladimir Impressionists'—their paintings were so unlike the officially recognized art in the USSR of the 1950s. In 1962, he received the First Prize of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, and in 1979, became the laureate of the Gerasim Feigin Regional Komsomol Prize.
In 2006, he became the laureate of the A. P. Gritsai Prize of the Union of Artists of Russia, and in 2010 received the V. I. Surikov Gold Medal of the All-Russian Creative Public Organization 'Union of Artists of Russia'.
He died on July 30, 2019, in Vladimir. The funeral service was held on July 31 at 9:00 am at the Assumption Church of the Knyaginin Monastery, after which he was buried in the Alley of Glory of the Ulybyshevo cemetery.
Exhibitions
He participated in many national and international exhibitions. The artist's solo exhibitions were held in Moscow (1966, 2002, 2006, 2012), Leningrad (1987), Vladimir (2001, 2002, 2007, 2010), Murom (2012), and other cities. His works are held in many major art museums of the country (Tretyakov Gallery, Russian Museum, Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve, Murom Historical and Art Museum, etc.), as well as in foreign collections.
Works 1
