Vladimir Demidovich Sakhnenko

Vladimir Sakhnenko (Russian: Влади́мир Сахне́нко; 10 January 1930 in the Sumy region of Ukraine – 31 July 2008 in Tula) was a painter and ceramist, and a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR since 1967. and his future wife – sculptor Zoya Riabchenko. He took part in art exhibitions since 1957. He lived and worked in Tula.

Ceramics Vladimir Sakhnenko created monumental objects, exterior ceramics and pottery houseware. The utility and decorativeness of his works served to conceal experiments with design and form, seditious for the Soviet period, which he continued in painting.

Many of his works still adorn cultural centres, Tula Drama Theatre, Intourist hotel in Yalta and the government dacha in Foros. State Museum of Culture History of Uzbekistan in Samarkand and World Trade Centre in Moscow are also the holders of Vladimir Sakhnenko's ceramics.

He worked daily in his workroom at Kislotoupor Shchyokino factory making crocks, vases, amphorae, flowerpots, multiple ceramic constructions, and ceramic sculptures of various creatures, almost until the end of his life.

He used chamotte, mostly with glaze. In the late 1970s he discovered a temperature-resistant composition of blue-green glaze that could survive extreme weather conditions, including frost. Sakhnenko's glazed ceramics have been held out of doors in Samarkand and Crimea for almost 40 years.

Painting In the 1970s the artist created 13 large black and white canvases (held in Erarta Museum ). In the early 1980s, Vladimir Sakhnenko turned to making bright paintings: portraits, still lives and works that depict biblical scenes. His personal style (both in painting and pottery) features easy switch from figurativeness to abstraction and ornamentality.

Art collections Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg Art Season Gallery and Art Caravan Gallery, Moscow State Museum of Culture History of Uzbekistan, Samarkand Tula Museum of Fine Arts

Recent exhibitions 1999 — On the Staraya Basmannaya Street Gallery, Moscow, featuring his son Ivan Sakhnenko 2005 — Autumn Marathon, Central House of Artists, Moscow, featuring Ivan Sakhnenko, Avetik and others 2006 — Revelation of Colour, Central House of Artists, Moscow, solo exhibition, Art Caravan Gallery 2007 — Abstract Art. The Early 21st Century, Central House of Artists, Moscow

Selected works Ceramics

Paintings