Enamels
In 1975, Hungarian enamel artists came to Moscow. They visited the Moscow Decorative and Design Art Workshop, and were amazed by the brightness of Yuri Kafengauz’s sketches and invited him to Kecskemet (Hungary) to master the technique of hot enamels. From this moment on, a new stage of the artist’s creativity begins – a passion for enamels.
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B.Y. Kafengauz
Returning from Kecskemét , the father settled in a small closet at the Moscow factory “Enamel-Posuda” in Tekstilshchiki, where, using various chemical reagents, a ball mill and a muffle furnace, he completely immersed himself in the enamel element. Here, on the basis of Dulevo jewelry enamels, he created his own bright enamel palette with the aim of using it for monumental works.
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Kafengauz’s plans to use the hot enamel technique for his next monumental composition, the design of the facade of the Energia cable plant in Kamenets-Podolsky. “I will make individual blocks in Moscow at the Enamel-Posuda plant, and only assemble them in Kamenets-Podolsky,” he said.
Cardboard design for enamels used in decorating the façade of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Cable Plant. 1980s.
However, these dreams never came true – two events: myocardial infarction and Perestroika in the country put an end to the monumental plans of Yuri. But, as they say, “nothing passes without a trace”, and from this period of the artist’s work there remained a series of unique enamel paintings, which are carefully preserved by the artist’s family and are regularly exhibited at exhibitions.
