Alex Salaueu

Alex Salaueu (September 13, 1926 – May 23, 2021) was a Belarusian Avant-garde artist. 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 held by museums and discerning collectors. Salaueu was a Member of the Union of Artists of the Republic of Belarus and an Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR (1982).

Biography

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.

Few works have survived from Salaueu's extensive artistic repertoire, estimated at around 1,500 oils and 3,500 watercolors. The majority of his surviving work, especially his rare lyrical abstract pieces, dates from the later period of his career.

Recognition

From 1973 to 1977, Salaueu served Chairman of the Board of the Vitebsk regional organization of the Union of Artists of the BSSR.

In 1982, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR.

In 2017, Salaueu was awarded the Order of Francis Skaryna in accordance with the presidential decree for many years of fruitful work, including significant personal contribution to the development of art and culture of Belarus.

Art development

The arrival of Salaueu to Vitebsk is considered by some to mark 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 various 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.

He 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, pictorial canvases, and design sketches of decorations for the performances of the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theater. He also provided paintings such as "Crucifixion," "Eve," "Requiem," and "Old Fresco."

Work in Salaueu's studio did not stop until his death.

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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