Kotov Victor

In 1950s Victor Kotov happened to be at the famous artists’ residence “Akademichka”*, near Vyshny Volochyok. He met some very well established artists there including brothers Sergey and Alexey Tkachev, Andrey Tutunov, Sergey Tutunov and many others. Those encounters greatly influenced Kotov in his development as an artist. That trip was the turning point in his career and defined his future direction. Having spent time at the residence Victor Kotov acquired his own artistic voice. He became known for his landscapes of the areas around Moscow,Tver and Crimea. Kotov mastered live en plein air painting and celebrated all the seasons with his bright palette of colors. His style is varied: from lyrical landscapes to expressive works in a sharp manner. Victor Iosifovich Kotov was born into the family of a blacksmith in Tula in 1927. He went voluntarily to the front during the WWII in 1942, was wounded and sent to hospital. Upon his return to Tula, he started working in a factory as well as taking drawing classes. Since 1957 Viktor Kotov’s works were exhibited in numerous Regional, Republican, and All-Union exhibitions. In 1957 the artist took part in the exhibition devoted to the 40th anniversary of the Komsomol Organization. Six of his works were shown at the All-Union Exhibition of Seascape Painters in 1961. Kotov became a member of the Union of the Artists of the USSR in 1960. His first personal exhibition took place in the town of Podolsk in 1978. He was of the artists who worked on the monumental work “The Defense of Stalingrad”. His works are represented in the Podolsk Art Gallery and many Russian and foreign private collections.