Konstantin Lomykin

1924 - 1994
Konstantin Lomykin was born in the town of Glukhov in Sumy Region in 1924. In 1951 he graduated from the Odessa Art College. He began exhibiting in that year and from very early on he became a major exponent of Soviet Impressionism, of which he created his own brand, powerful and unusually bold. The definite turning point in his career happened in 1969, when he painted a large canvas of Lenin conversing with a peasant, a daring and definitely unorthodox picture, which was nevertheless approved and acclaimed by the authorities, thus establishing him and giving him the freedom from self restraint lacked by so many others. He participated in numerous major art exhibitions, nationally and internationally. He was a member of the Union of Artists, and received many State prizes and medals for his contribution to Soviet art. Since his death in 1994, his fame abroad has been steadily increasing.

Lomykin was a very prolific artist and worked in many genres including landscapes, portraiture, thematic paintings, still lifes, and nudes. His distinctive trait is a deep, dramatic intensity exuding not only from portraits but from inanimate objects as well. A beautiful colourist, Lomykin was a master of all media, although the majority of his works are done in oil, watercolour and pastel. It is in his pastels that Lomykin attains his highest degree of mastery; his bold strokes skilfully shape the form and his colour is powerful, leading the viewer to a constant rediscovery. A great lover of life, Lomykin lived and breathed painting, and he left behind an enormous heritage. His paintings hang in the most prestigious galleries and museums of the former USSR, as well as in numerous Western private collections.

one man exhibitions:

1953 Odessa, Kharkov, Kiev

1974 Odessa, Kiev

1979 Gekkoso Gallery, Tokyo

1981 Gekkoso Gallery, Tokyo

1983 Odessa, Moscow, Bucharest

1984 Tokyo
Konstantin Lomykin  'After the Bath'
After the Bath
  
Konstantin Lomykin  'Still Life with watermelon'
Still Life with watermelon
  
Konstantin Lomykin  'Vase of Peonies with Mirror'
Vase of Peonies with Mirror
  
Konstantin Lomykin  'Still Life of Peonies with Cherries'
Still Life of Peonies with Cherries