Easel painting and graphics
Speaking about the work of Yuri Kafengauz, it is necessary to note that he worked with equal enthusiasm and success on the creation of monumental compositions and easel paintings, was engaged in graphics and enamels. At the same time, even in easel painting, my father remained a monumentalist: he often did not have enough plane of one picture, and he sought to expand the pictorial space, creating compositions of two, three or more canvases. The work of Y. Kafengauz is characterized by an energetic manner of writing, bold experiments with color, texture, form, technique and materials; he uses: charcoal, sanguine, gouache, felt-tip pen, tempera, oil, encaustic, epoxy resins, metal, mosaic, and hot enamels. The works of my father are extremely decorative and look great both in spacious exhibition halls and in the interiors of residential premises. They are saturated with life, color, and light, and have a powerful positive impact on the viewer. Here you will find city views, still lifes, portraits, landscapes, and abstract compositions.
Nude Model No. 1. 1972.
Paper, felt-tip pen, gouache, 63.5 × 49 cm.
I would especially like to note the spectacular series of color graphics “Nudes”, created by the artist in 1972.
A large number of landscapes and still lifes with flowers were painted in the 90s in the dacha village of Mozzhinka near the town Zvenigorod, where Yuri Kafengauz spent a long time and with difficulty recovering from a heart attack.
Spring in Zvenigorod. 1994.
Canvas, oil, 68 × 67 cm. In a private collection.
In the early 80s, the artist finally received the long-awaited studio from the Union of Artists on Vernadsky Avenue. He went there every day and painted here when his health prevented him from fulfilling monumental orders.
Yuri Kafengauz died in his studio at work on January 26, 2008 and was buried in the family grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
