Boris Sveshnikov

Boris Petrovich Sveshnikov (1927–1998) Sometime in the fall of 1948, he was transferred to the Vetlosyan camp for "invalids" and was appointed night watchman at a woodworking factory. The nature of this position gave him an opportunity to produce a number of drawings in pencil and ink on paper that today comprise an important part of his oevre. In the night watchman's closet, secretly, at night, Sveshnikov began to paint. His proximity to a nearby painting workshop where three prisoners served the "aesthetic needs" of the camp, i.e., preparation of banners, poster design, and painting portraits of Stalin, allowed him to obtain some art materials. Sometimes “clients” came to him, and on small pieces of paper he painted their portraits, which the prisoners then sent in letters to their relatives. In 1954 Sveshnikov was released.

Following his release, Sveshnikov continued to work in the fantastic realism style that he had developed in the Siberian labor camps. Oddly and perhaps sarcastically, Sveshnikov recalled the camp years as a period of “absolute free creativity.” “I got my ration of bread and painted what I wanted. Nobody supervised me. Nobody showed any interest in me.” Despite the injustices done to him by the government and despite the fact that Sveshnikov is considered a powerful exponent of Soviet nonconformist art, the artist never perceived himself as a dissident. On the contrary, Sveshnikov's work is largely personal and apolitical. As the artist once stated, “What I painted at home I did for myself... All of my works are dedicated to the grave.”