The personal exhibition "Views and Techniques in Graphic Art" is dedicated to the work of the People's Artist of Russia, Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation, and Professor of the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov, Oleg Ivanovich Ardimassov. This outstanding master is also a full member of the Academy of Humanities.
The name Oleg Ivanovich is well known to the residents and visitors of Plyos. He has long maintained friendly relations with the museum-reserve, actively participating in its exhibitions and the international plein air "Green Noise," as well as serving as the artistic director of the Creative Camp for Young and Emerging Artists "Volga Artist." In the new exhibition, the master appears before the audience in an unexpected role: the retrospective exposition includes almost 50 graphic works executed in various techniques.
O. I. Ardimassov was born on July 24, 1936, in the village of Lermontovka, Khabarovsk Krai. His interest in drawing manifested itself from an early age. Without suitable materials, young Oleg drew war scenes on the plywood walls of a cabinet. Later, he began to seriously engage in drawing at the art studio of the Khabarovsk Palace of Pioneers under the guidance of artist O. P. Purtov. Already in his school years, Oleg drew portraits of writers, independently mastered working with oil paints, studied albums with reproductions of Russian artists, and visited the Khabarovsk Museum. A small study by Isaac Levitan made a particular impression on him, to which the young man returned more than once.
In 1953, Oleg Ardimassov entered the Irkutsk Art School, where his mentors were A. A. Savinykh and A. P. Zhibinov. He then continued his education at the graphic faculty of the Moscow Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov, where he studied under such masters as E. A. Kibrik, K. M. Maksimov, M. N. Alekseich, Ya. R. Kogan, and P. I. Suvorov (art of lettering). From the third year, Oleg began to specialize in the workshop of easel graphics under the guidance of E. A. Kibrik, where the technique of etching took a special place in his work. In 1964, he successfully defended his diploma and entered the institute's postgraduate program. Initially, he taught drawing and etching, and in 1971 he became the dean of the faculty. The next 30 years, Oleg Ivanovich devoted to teaching and creativity, becoming a professor, and later the vice-rector of the institute (1985–1997).
Today, the work of Oleg Ivanovich Ardimassov remains a bright continuation of the traditions of the Russian realistic school. Since 1958, his personal exhibitions have been held in Moscow, Orel, Voronezh, Chita, Sergiev Posad, Plyos, Kemerovo, and other cities of Russia, as well as abroad — in China, Germany, Italy, Finland, Canada, and Cuba.
