Tsuzmer Revekka Moiseyevna
Revekka Moiseyevna Tsuzmer (Rena Tsuzmer) (1918–2009) was a Soviet and Russian ceramic artist. People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (2002).
Biography:
She was born on November 22, 1918 in Odessa. Her father, Moisey Yakovlevich Tsuzmer (1884–1947), a graduate of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University, was a professor at the Odessa Institute of Public Education and the first head of the Jewish Department of the Social Education Faculty at this institute (1921–1922), teaching courses in biology and general world studies.
In 1922, she moved with her parents to Moscow, where her father was appointed professor at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute named after V. I. Lenin. In 1949, she graduated from the Moscow Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts (MIPIDI), studying under Robert Falk (painting) and V. A. Favorsky (composition).
Since 1953, she participated in exhibitions. Solo exhibitions in Moscow, Leningrad, Yaroslavl, and Kostroma.
Her works are held in state and private art museums in Russia and abroad.
She died in Moscow on August 6, 2009.
Her grandson is Pyotr Yuryevich Malkov, a patrologist.
Awards and Honors:
- Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1986)
- People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (2002)
- I. E. Repin State Prize of the RSFSR (1989) — for a series of decorative works dedicated to A. S. Pushkin
- Full member of the Russian Academy of Arts (2007)
- Golden Pushkin Medal (1999, A. S. Pushkin 200th Anniversary Fund)
- Silver Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts (1996)
- Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts (2003) — for a solo exhibition
Works in collections
Her works are held in:
- State Tretyakov Gallery
- The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
- State Historical Museum
- State Museum of Ceramics and the Kuskovo 18th Century Estate
- All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art in Moscow
- Museum of the History and Reconstruction of Moscow
- State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg
- Sergiev Posad State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve
- A. S. Pushkin Museum-Reserve in Mikhaylovskoye.
Exhibitions and auctions
1973: 31st International Ceramic Competition, Faenza, Italy;
1977: Solo exhibition, Moscow;
1979: Solo exhibition, Leningrad;
1983: Solo exhibition, Yaroslavl, Russia;
1984: Solo exhibition, Kostroma, Russia;
1990: Solo exhibition, Central House of Artists, Moscow.
Author about himself
The world appears to me as a vibrating structure emitting light. From streams of light that wash over all of nature, my improvisations are born—a special state of joyful lightness when the eyes, as if watching from the side, observe the movement of the brush, and a strange and unfamiliar world appears, similar to the surrounding one, but it is uniquely mine. Then the lightness vanishes, like a mirage, and long work begins.
Humans with their thoughts and doubts, nature, the city, carnival, theater—these are the themes of my paintings and graphic works. Painting and drawing have become a necessity for me. Ballpoint pen drawings with slightly tinted watercolor paper surfaces reflect my moods, impressions, and dreams. I draw without a pencil, trying to compose the drawing immediately on the sheet. This form of work is both liberating and disciplining. I strive to work just as freely in faience and chamotte.
Ceramics, like a fugue, are polyphonic, merging three voices—sculpture, painting, graphics. Only when they harmoniously blend does it sound clear and pure. Clay does not tolerate violence and obeys the laws embedded in it by nature herself. The mysterious world of two elements—fire and water—combining with earth, creates the wonder of ceramics. How often this seemingly "obedient" material becomes formidable and capricious. But sometimes ceramics bring unexpected joy, when, at the whim of tamed fire, awakened pigment blends to create harmony of color—multilayered, deep, radiant. This material's peculiarity makes the work unpredictable and encourages endless experimentation.
Critic
Work in architecture has brought to Rena Tsuzmer's artistry a developed sense of ensemble. Still, painterly interpretation of the subject remains determinative, with form often serving merely as background. At the same time, sculptural and architectural elements—columns, capitals, layers—are becoming increasingly valued. There is a tendency to introduce tangible moments that reveal the essence of the ceramist's craft: demonstration of material, its structure, especially in chamotte, with intentionally unfinished edges of sculpture—a classical principle showing the 'technology' of clay manipulation.
But this demonstration of 'handcraftedness' runs parallel to a deepening, ever more soulful overall content, apparent in both the artistic decor and the form. A new synthesis appears, often built on contrast, gaining acute poignancy from it.
The painterly works of Revekka Moiseyevna are unusual and mesmerizing... All evoke vague associations, memories, transporting viewers to a land of pure and slightly sad fairytales, where candles burn, cherished old furniture stands, and the world is reflected in magical, dim mirrors set in carved frames.
N. Voronov
Bibliography
Catalog of Solo Exhibition by R. M. Tsuzmer, 1977, Moscow;
Booklet 'Revekka Moiseyevna Tsuzmer,' 1979, Moscow;
Catalog of Group Exhibition of Moscow Artists, 1982, Moscow;
Booklet 'Rena Tsuzmer', 1983, Yaroslavl;
N. Voronov 'Ceramics of Rena Tsuzmer', magazine 'Decorative Art of the USSR', No.4, 1975;
N. Skazina 'The Multifaceted Gift', magazine 'Artist', No.4, 1978;
E. Pavlova 'The Line of Search', magazine 'Rabotnitsa', No.12, 1979;
L. Georgieva 'Ceramists at the Easel Exhibition', magazine 'Decorative Art of the USSR', No.3, 1983;
V. Kodik 'Window to the World', newspaper 'Youth', 16 August 1983, Yaroslavl;
Catalog 'Revekka Tsuzmer: Ceramics, Painting, Graphics', 1990, Moscow.
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