Alex Salaueu

Alex Salaueu (September 13, 1926 – May 23, 2021) was a Belarusian Avant-garde artist. Remains a captivating enigma in the world of art. Few works have survived from his extensive artistic repertoire, estimated at nearly 5000 creations. The majority of his work, especially his lyrical abstract works, stem from the latter part of his career. The latest are exclusively held by prestigious museums and discerning collectors, underscoring their extraordinarily rare nature. Salaueu was a Member of the Union of Artists of the Republic of Belarus and an Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR (1982).
Biography
Alexander Salaueu (September 13, 1926 - May 23, 2021) remains a fascinating enigma in the art world. Few works have survived from his extensive artistic repertoire, estimated at around 1,500 oils and 3,500 watercolors. The majority of his work, especially his lyrical abstract pieces, dates from the later period of his career. The latest works are exclusively held by prestigious museums and discerning collectors, underscoring their extraordinarily rare nature.
Born in Soloni, in the Novgorodsky region, Salaueu's youth was marked by commitment. At the age of 17, he actively participated in the resistance movement and was decorated with the Red Star order, also receiving commemorative medals as a great wartime patriot in 1945. He remained stationed in Tallinn from 1945 to 1949, with no precursory signs of his future artistic career.
The pivotal encounter with Ado Vabbe was decisive. Vabbe introduced him to art, particularly avant-garde abstraction. In 1955, Salaueu successfully pursued courses at the Academy of Art in Saint Petersburg and later at the Institute of Art Theater in Belarus, further deepening his artistic expertise. In 1965, he became the set designer and producer of the Academic Dramatic Theater in Vitebsk, succeeding Mark Chagall and becoming a renowned painter in his own right.
Alexander Salaueu occupies a unique place in the artistic landscape of the second half of the 20th century. His intense creations, artistic expertise, and influential circle, which included artists like Pablo Picasso, earned him nearly automatic recognition as one of the greatest contemporary artists. His works are sought after worldwide, primarily held in the United States, Germany, Italy, France, New Brunswick, USA, the Tretyakov Museum, Vitebsk National Museum, Minsk National Museum, and the Minnesota Museum, among others.
It is worth noting that his lyrical abstract works are exceptionally rare, with most being nearly impossible to find. Alexander Salaueu never actively sought recognition because it came to him naturally. Throughout his life, he continued the artistic legacy initiated by pioneers like Malevitch, Chagall, and Kroushkin, thus perpetuating the tradition of the second school of Paris.
In 1973-1977 - Chairman of the Board of the Vitebsk regional organization of the Union of Artists of the BSSR.
In 1982, Alex Salaueu was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR.
In 2017, Alex Salaueu was awarded the Order of Francis Skaryna in accordance with the presidential decree for many years of fruitful work, significant personal contribution to the development of art and culture of Belarus.
Art development
The arrival of Alex Salaueu to Vitebsk marked the appearance of the post-war urban avant-garde. As an artist who grew up on the classical school and world models of realism, Salaueu studied all sorts of abstract and realistic systems, and also began to combine realism with abstract art. During his work, the artist designed more than eight hundred performances in Vitebsk and more than a hundred in various theaters in Belarus and abroad.
Alex Salaueu was an active participant in city, regional, republican and international exhibitions. Also his works were exhibited in Russia, the Baltic States, Germany, France and Australia. In 2010, the artist donated 35 of his works to the Vitebsk Art Museum, including abstract compositions and design sketches of decorations for the performances of the National Academic Drama Theater named after Yakub Kolas and pictorial canvases. Created for various theaters (including the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theater), they allow one to get acquainted with the events of the post-war years through the prism of the author's perception, to trace the theatrical tendencies of that time. In addition, the artist gave the city paintings "Crucifixion", "Eve", "Requiem", "Old Fresco" and others. The work of Alexander Solovyov became an integral part of the culture not only of Vitebsk, where the artist had a significant influence on the formation of the artistic environment of the city, but also the whole of Belarus in the second half of the 20th century. Work in the artist's studio did not stop until his death. Alex Salaueu and Tony Zhuravel and are prominent representatives of the Vitebsk Art school founded by Marc Chagall and Kazimir Malevich .
Theater
"How remarkable, how utterly captivating were the theatrical endeavors of Vitebsk's master, Alexander Salaueu. For the better part of a century, Salaueu demonstrated time and again that the theatre was a profound passion within his creative soul. The theatre began to assert itself as a significant art form in the latter half of the 19th century. The concept of synthesizing various art forms, born out of the historicism of that era, found its most complete expression on the stage. We're familiar with Richard Wagner's operatic performances as the quintessential Gesamtkunstwerk.
Alexander Salaueu actively immersed himself in both large and small-scale theatrical productions. Salaueu's work consistently bore figurative and anthropomorphic elements; his artworks often featured intriguing subjects and characters with distinct, archetypal qualities. The intricate, associative nature of his visual storytelling elevated his art to the realm of a mythological reality, one more authentic than the everyday world we see. Salaueu's creations delved into the essentials of life — love, birth, death, and the human experience. Much like the finest performances by great actors and actresses on stage, his primary tools were transfiguration and catharsis.
It's essential to note that Salaueu had a unique interpretation of theatrical phenomena and "theatricality," often viewing them with a touch of artificiality. Later in his career, he grew critical of theatricality itself and sometimes drew unfavorable comparisons between the theater and the circus."
I hope you find this revision more refined and engaging. If you have any further requests or specific changes you'd like, please feel free to let me know!
Alex Salaueu: Fantasies for the Stage
Museums
Belarusian National Arts Museum (Minsk, Belarus)
Marc Chagall Museum (Vitebsk, Belarus)
Pushkin Museum (Moscow)
Tretyakov Gallery (Russia)
New Brunswick Museum (USA)
Museum of Modern Art (Frankfurt)
The funds of the Belarusian Union of Artists
Exhibitions
1963 – republican exhibition dedicated to the 45th anniversary of the BSSR, Minsk.
1967 – republican exhibition of the works of scene-designers, art directors and TV designers, Minsk.
1981 – republican art exhibition « The USSR – is Our Homeland » dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the USSR foundation.
1987 – republican exhibition of the works of scene-designers, art directors and TV designers, Minsk.
2009 – republican art exhibition «ABSTRACT-2009» dedicated to the anniversary of Vitebsk Art School, Minsk.
2010 – republican art exhibition «ABSTRACT-2009» dedicated to the anniversary of Vitebsk Art School, Minsk.
1967 – regional art exhibition «Vitebsk the Heroic and the Labour», Vitebsk regional museum;
1967 – regional art exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of October Revolution, Vitebsk.
1968 – regional art exhibition «Vitebsk the Heroic and the Labour», Vitebsk;
1968 – anniversary regional art exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the BSSR and KPB, Vitebsk.
1974 – regional art exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of liberation of Belarus and Vitebsk from fascist aggressors, Vitebsk.
1987 – regional art exhibition dedicated to the 70th anniversary of October Revolution, Vitebsk.
1974 – retrospective exhibition of the works by belorussian artists of 1944–1974, Minsk.
1976 – anniversary personal exhibition, Vitebsk.
1980 – exhibition of the artists А. Salaueu, L. Antimonov, А. Orlov, Vitebsk.
1982 – exhibition of the artists from Vitebsk region, Smolensk.
1986 – exhibition of the artists А. Salaueu, L. Antimonov, Polotsk;
1986 – personal art exhibition, Vitebsk regional museum.
1989 – exhibition of Vitebsk artists dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the BSSR and KPB, Vitebsk;
1989 – exhibition of scene-designers following the results of the theatre season of 1987–1988, Minsk.
1993 – exhibition of the artists А. Salaueu and P. Kirilin, Vitebsk.
1997 – exhibition of the artists А. Salaueu and V. Chukin, Vitebsk.
2000 – personal art exhibition, Vitebsk.
2000 – personal animalistic exhibition, Vitebsk (Art Museum).
2001 – anniversary personal exhibition (Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre), Vitebsk;
2001 – anniversary personal exhibition Vitebsk regional museum;
2001 – anniversary personal exhibition (exhibition hall of the UA), Vitebsk;
2001 – personal art exhibition, Polotsk.
2004 – art exhibition «There was a War» dedicated to the 60th anniversary of liberation of Belarus and Vitebsk from fascist aggressors, Vitebsk.
2005 – personal art exhibition Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art;
2005 – personal art exhibition (Regional Library name after V. Lenin), Vitebsk.
2006 – anniversary personal exhibition, Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art.
2009 – personal art exhibition, Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art
2010 – personal art exhibition «One-man Theater», Vitebsk.
2011 – personal art exhibition к 85th anniversary of A. Salaueu's birth (Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre, Regional Museum of Local History), Vitebsk;
2011 – personal art exhibition « Revelation», Vitebsk;
2011 – art exhibition «What does Motherland Start with», Vitebsk;
2011 – exhibition dedicated to the 40th anniversary Vitebsk organization of artists, Minsk.
2012 – personal art exhibition «Element of Colour» (Regional Library name after V. Lenin), Vitebsk;
2012– exhibition of works «Fine Gift, Invaluable Gift», granted to Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art, Vitebsk.
2013 – personal art exhibition «Theatre of Alexander Salaueu» (Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre, Regional Museum of Local History), Vitebsk.
2015 – personal art exhibition «Our Eternal Nature: colour, rhythm, space» (Art Museum), Vitebsk.
2016 – personal anniversary art exhibition «The Movement of My Dream», dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the artist (exhibition hall of CE «Museum "Vitebsk Centre of Modern Art"»), Vitebsk;
2016 – personal anniversary art exhibition «Reality With No Similarity» to the 90th anniversary of Honoured Art Worker of Belarus Alexander Salaueu Belarusian National Arts Museum, Minsk.
2017 – exhibition of the thematic works by Vitebsk artists – veterans of the Great Patriotic War «War In the Works of Its Soldiers» Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art, May, 8 – June, 4), Vitebsk.
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
Order of the Patriotic War
Order of Francysk Skaryna
Oeuvres
Notes
References
Bibliography
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1926 births
2021 deaths
Russian contemporary artists
Belarusian painters
Modern painters
Russian painters
Russian male painters
Russian emigrants to Belarus
Abstract painters
Abstract expressionist artists
Expressionist painters
Belarusian State Academy of Arts alumni
People from Novgorod Oblast
Soviet partisans
Soviet military personnel of World War II