Ry Nikonova

Anna Aleksandrovna Tarshis (; 25 June 1942 – 10 March 2014), better known as Ry Nikonova or Rea Nikonova, was a Russian artist, poet, and writer. Many of her artworks are held in private and public collections throughout the world.

Nikonova was a main theoretical thinker behind Transfurism movement as well as a prominent figure in mail art history. Her literary and visual works were published in Russia, Spain, US, and other countries. She was an editor of samizdat magazines Transponans and Double. She founded "Uktuss School" art movement in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Biography Early life Ry Nikonova was born Anna Aleksandrovna Tarshis on 25 June 1942 in Yeysk, which was occupied by Nazi Germany at the time. She was born into a very artistic family who saw playing piano, singing, and composing music as normal after-work entertainment. She graduated from the Sverdlovsk Music College in 1961, then entered the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinema in 1965. She was expelled in 1967, because her paintings were non-conformant to the communist standards of that day.

She married Serge Segay in 1966. Their families were tied together by friendship forged during exile; his grandmother and her grandcousin were exiled together to Kazakhstan by Stalin. Introduced by their parents, they became close by discussing each other's artwork and remained married until her death in 2014.

Uktuss School (Sverdlovsk) She founded the "Uktuss School" art movement in Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg). They were creating abstract art and experimented with avant-garde poetry and writing. She also founded the samizdat journal "Nomer". Many artworks from that era now are in possession of Russian collector Vadim Yegorov. In 1971 she creates first visual poems. Then she creates first vacuum poems, and first poems in form of tables.

Transfurism (Yeysk, Leningrad)

In 1974, she moved to Yeysk with her husband. They started publishing the samizdat journal Transponans in 1979, in five copies.

Exhibitions

Mail Art: The Artists from 25 Countries, Yeysk Art School, Yeysk, Russian SSR (1989) First International Exhibition of Concrete Poetry in the USSR, Yeysk State Museum of History and Local Lore, Yeysk, Russian SSR (1990)

References and sources