Artist Oleg Ildyukov

Biography

Oleg Evgenyevich Ildyukov — St. Petersburg graphic artist, painter, illustrator.

Biographical Information

  • 1966 — Born January 1 in Sverdlovsk-44 (now Novouralsk) in the Urals.
  • 1977 — Family moved to Lithuania (Sniečkus, now Visaginas) for the construction of the Ignalina NPP.
  • 1981–1984 — Studied at the B.V. Ioganson Secondary Art School (SKhSh) of the Academy of Arts, Leningrad.
  • 1985–1992 — Studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the I.E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (St. Petersburg Academy of Arts). Diploma project — “Hippodrome in Skachki” (workshop of V.S. Volonsevich).
  • Since 1993 — Member of the “Vernissage” association of free artists of St. Petersburg.
  • Since 2015 — Member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists (graphics section).

Background and Path in Art

Oleg Ildyukov received his first creative impulses in his family, but his conscious path in art began only in the eighth grade, when a technical drawing teacher noticed the young man’s talent in the small Lithuanian town of Sniečkus. At her insistence, Oleg went to Leningrad to enter the SkhSh. This period became a time of intense professional growth: the artist had to overcome the gap in training compared to his peers in a short time.

Despite successfully graduating from the Faculty of Architecture of the Academy of Arts, by the end of his studies Oleg realized that his calling lay outside the framework of applied design. Not wanting to become a “techie” of architecture, he chose the path of a free artist. Nevertheless, his architectural background and six years of experience working with ink and watercolor laid the foundation for his unique graphic language — disciplined, technical, and attentive to the structure of space.

Oleg Evgenyevich’s creative biography is inextricably linked with the life of St. Petersburg: his background includes experience in street portraiture in the late 80s, working on Nevsky Prospekt in the 90s, developing souvenir products, and a long search for his own theme in easel graphics.

Creative Method and Themes

Currently, the artist works in the genres of cityscape, figurative art, symbolic composition, and fantasy, and also illustrates fiction and poetry.

Metaphysical St. Petersburg

Cityscape is the central theme in Ildyukov’s work. His predominantly monochrome Petersburg is both real and metaphysical; the city here acts as both the main character and a mirror of the author’s personal experiences.

The artist rarely acts as an impartial recorder of nature. His method is the “re-creation” of reality. Based on deep observation and archival work done during long walks through the courtyards and backstreets of St. Petersburg, the artist transforms space: he removes dissonant elements of modernity or restores lost historical details. A vivid example of such “artistic restoration” was the graphic restoration of the pinnacles of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church on Vasilyevsky Island, which were lost during construction work.

Dialogue of Arts and Symbolism

The artist’s work is deeply dialogical and filled with references to poetry and music. In his works, intimate, deeply personal subjects — such as the life of birds outside the workshop window or images of loved ones — are organically woven into the general St. Petersburg mythology. This fusion of reality and symbolism gives his monochrome works a special emotional warmth and expressiveness.

Doctor of Art History D.Ya. Severyukhin characterizes his style as follows:

“Among modern masters who convincingly represent the symbolic-fantastic line of the St. Petersburg landscape, Oleg Ildyukov should be mentioned.”

Collections and Exhibitions

The artist has about two dozen solo exhibitions and participation in numerous collective art projects. Oleg Ildyukov’s works are in private collections in Russia and abroad, as well as in museum funds, including:

  • The State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve (Yelabuga).
  • The N.K. Roerich Estate Museum (Izvara).

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2015
    • Solo exhibition “Dreams of Something…”. Gallery “14/15”, St. Petersburg
    • Exhibition of the triptych “The Duel” as part of the “Exhibition of One Painting” project. Art and Music Center of the Mayakovsky Library, Nevsky Prospekt, 20, St. Petersburg
    • Solo exhibition “Sfumato”. Gallery “10x15”. Borey Art Center, St. Petersburg
  • 2016 — Solo exhibition “London. Watercolor”. Land Rover & Jaguar dealership on Shkolnaya, St. Petersburg
  • 2017
    • Solo exhibition “With a Shadow of Divination…”. Art Hotel Trezzini, St. Petersburg
    • Solo exhibition “Dreams of Something and Even More”. Elena Tsvetkova’s Jewelry House
  • 2018
    • Solo exhibition “Phantom Pains” as part of the Imaginary Museum of Mikhail Shemyakin project, “The Bandaged Figure in Art”. Mikhail Shemyakin Center (MSC), St. Petersburg
    • Solo exhibition “Coming Out into the Light”. V.A. Noskin Collector’s Apartment Museum, St. Petersburg
  • 2019
    • Solo exhibition “St. Petersburg in Vertical Format”. Writer’s Bookstore, St. Petersburg
    • Solo exhibition “Biography” as part of the Imaginary Museum of Mikhail Shemyakin project, “The Staircase in Art”. Mikhail Shemyakin Center (MSC), St. Petersburg
  • 2020 — Solo exhibition “The City in Dreams and Reality”. Artefice Gallery, St. Petersburg
  • 2021
    • Solo exhibition “Petersburg Away from Royal Splendor”. Cultural Center “Kaskad”, Peterhof
    • Solo exhibition “Demi-season”. House of Writers of St. Petersburg on Zvenigorodskaya, St. Petersburg
  • 2024 — Solo exhibition “Here the Sky Gets Closer…”. GlobalArt Gallery, St. Petersburg