Timur D’Vatz, a Russian artist, fuses ancient legends and symbols with a modernist style and vibrant colours. Taking inspiration from ancient histories, early Byzantine art and medieval tapestries, D’Vatz explores core motifs and ideas that he believes have gained meaning and significance with each historical transition. Drawing on these styles and referencing literature, religion and astrology, D’Vatz’s paintings create their own modern mythology intrinsically linked with the recognisable iconic traditions of medieval painting.
‘I see mythology as the starting point for an inner journey through outer experience. In order to go forwards we must go back to our roots; the journey forward is always a return. Myth is a poetic interpretation of human knowledge.’
The subject of the hunt is a symbolic and dynamic motif throughout his works; the hunt can be a quest, a journey or the search for ourselves. Through the use of elongated bodies, his paintings seek to show the exhilaration of movement within a static image; a forward thrust towards an end goal.
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Archer, 2022oil on canvas30cm x 82cm (12" x 32")
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Water lilies. Rain. Triptych, 2022oil and gold leaf on canvas213cm x 106cm (84" x 42")
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Angels, Flamingos and Blue Winged Stag, 2022oil on canvas122cm x 175cm (48" x 69")
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Dream, 2022oil on canvas47cm x 93cm (19" x 37")
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Falconer with the Green Glove, 2022oil on canvas60cm x 60cm (24" x 24")
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Red Leopard, 2022oil on canvas23cm x 26cm (9" x 10")
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Autumn (four panels),oil on canvas168cm x 184cm (66” x 72.4”)
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Black waterlilies,oil on board38cm x 38cm (15” x 15”)
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Blue Falcon,oil on canvas50cm x 100cm (19.5” x 39.4”)
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Creation Myth II,oil on canvas100cm x 175cm (39" x 69")
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Falconers,oil on canvas81cm x 122cm (32" x 48")
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Golden Deer Chase,oil on canvas100cm x 165cm (39” x 65”)
Timur D’Vatz studied at the Republican College of Art in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1983-87, and between 1993-96 he attended the Post-Graduate courses at Royal Academy Schools, London. Having met Christopher Burness in 1992, he has been represented by Cadogan ever since. In this time, D’Vatz has exhibited across the continent and has been awarded a number of accolades including the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2002. His artwork is included in many private collections globally.
Background and Education
1968 | Born in the USSR |
1983-87 | Republican College of Art, Tashkent |
1993-96 | Post-Graduate Royal Academy Schools, London |
Awarded Jack Goldhill and Sir James Walker Scholarships |
Selected Exhibitions
2020
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Solo Exhibition, Cadogan Gallery (and 8 others since 2000)
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2015 | Galerie Montmartre, Paris |
2013 | Uzebkistan Embassy exhibition, London |
2010 | Design Museum, London |
2006 | Opera Gallery, Paris (Venice 2007, Dubai 2008, Singapore 2009, Dubai 2013, Beirut 2016) |
2002 | BP Portrait Award 2002, National Portrait Gallery, London |
Modigliani Centre, Florence | |
1996 | Degree Show Royal Academy of Arts. Awarded A. T. Kearney Prize |
1994 | Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London (and in 1995) |
Awarded Guinness Prize for ‘First Time Exhibitor’ |
Selected Projects
2015 | Unveiled large commission (4 x 3 metres) ‘The Flight Into Egypt', Notre Dame de France church, London |
Alice + Olivia , NY Fashion collaboration | |
2014 | ‘The English Knight’ by Christopher Long, Illustrations by Timur D’Vatz, published by Pont-Farcy, Normandy 2014 |
Unveiled commissions at Four Seasons Hotel, Moscow | |
2011 | London Fashion Week, set design for Corrie Nielsen Show, Somerset House, London |
Selected Publications
RussianUK Magazine, В контакте с цругйм пространством, Nov 2014
Anna Seaman, ‘Who is Timur D’Vatz?’, The National, Feb 2013
Pamella de Leon, Art in the City, Feb 2013
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TIMUR D'VATZ | GULF TODAY UAE
Muhammad Yusuf,, Gulf Today United Arab Emirates, November 11, 2021 -
TIMUR D'VATZ | ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST MIDDLE EAST | FEATURE
AD Staff , Architectural Digest Middle East , January 28, 2020 -
TIMUR D'VATZ | LA GAZETTE
La Gazette , July 15, 2019 -
TIMUR D'VATZ | BBC NEWS UZBEK
BBC News Uzbek, December 5, 2017 -
TIMUR D'VATZ | THE NATIONAL ARTS & CUTURE MIDDLE EAST
Anna Seaman , The National Arts & Culture Middle East, February 3, 2013