On May 23rd, 2018 in Gzhel State University the X International Festival "Art Ceramics" took place, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of the first rector of the University, V.M. Loginov. The festival is jubilee, and, as is known, it is customary to sum up the jubilee dates. Returning to history, we can say that the popularity of this holiday of skill and creativity grows from year to year not only in our country, but also abroad. The jubilee festival was attended by artists and ceramics masters from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Guatemala, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Cuba, Luhansk People’s Republic, Salvador, France, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Japan.

For the first time, the cultural attaché of the Embassy of Colombia, Andriana Castro Lopez, visited the event and said in her welcome speech that what is happening on the festival grounds makes an impression. The guests of the "Art Pottery" were artists Omar Godines (Cuba), Joslen Arriochas Orsini (Venezuela), Kaori Isidzima (Japan), Fazliddin Kuziev (Uzbekistan).

The works of foreign guests were demonstrated at the exhibition of creative works of university professors, artists, masters and enterprises for the production of ceramics, students of educational institutions of Russia and foreign countries. Of particular interest were personal exhibitions of Russian and foreign participants.

In the hall of the first floor of the building, the works of French artists Maurice Azra and Josette Swab were demonstrated. Maurice Azra - chairman of the association of Catalan artists, owning the technique of traditional realistic painting, creates fantastic stories, on his canvases reality is intertwined with the imagination or the memory of what he has seen and experienced. A special place at the exhibition was occupied by the work "The Seasons", written in warm colors, it shows the beauty of nature in its different manifestations.

Josette Swab, a biologist, worked for the team of Professor L. Montagnier, who won a Nobel Prize in medicine in 2018 for the discovery of the AIDS virus. Painting was carried away more than 15 years ago, studying and improving in different techniques. Her paintings were exhibited in the Grand Palace of Paris. At the festival "Artistic ceramics" she presented a series of watercolor works.

Dean of the Faculty of Decorative and Applied Art and Design, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation G.P. Moscovskaya and the artist Christina Camara and her husband Umar Kamara (Guinea) solemnly opened an exhibition of arts and crafts of the Republic of Guinea. The participants and guests of the festival could admire the picturesque paintings, mahogany sculptures, bamboo panels, see national clothes and shoes, artifacts carved from jade, statuettes of animals, authentic everyday objects of the inhabitants of Africa. This collection of Camara’s wife, keen on folk art and the history of Guinea, collects more than 10 years. Having visited her husband’s homeland, Christina created a series of works "Recollecting Africa", which depicts the unique nature, wild animals and life of Guineans.

Within the framework of the international festival master classes that were conducted by both Russian and foreign artists were demonstrated. The Cuban artist Omar Godines showed a master class of engraving in mixed technique. This technique aroused great interest among students.

Japanese artist Kaori Isidzima held a master class on calligraphy with elements of art painting. Those wishing to master this art not only learned to represent hieroglyphs on paper, but also painted ceramic cups for them, because calligraphy is one of the types of fine art. The interest in the master class was so great that it was held twice.

For the first time an artist from Uzbekistan Fazliddin Kuziev visited our university, whose plans include the continuation of his postgraduate studies at GSU. At the festival he also showed a master class on painting "Faces".

The head of the museum, N. P. Kovalyv, gave foreign visitors an excursion to the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts of GSU, where they got acquainted with the expositions and exhibitions of the creative works of students, and in the workshops they could see all the stages of porcelain production. Under the guidance of the teacher of the college M.K. Belous, they were able to try their hand at the master class on Gzhel painting.

Many have left thank-you notes in the book of the museum’s reviews, noted that the University of Gzhel is a unique educational institution in which specialists in the field of arts and crafts and design are trained not only for Russian but also for foreign enterprises.

Foreign guests of the festival "Artistic ceramics" in the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts of GSU
Conversation of GSU rector, Prof. B.V. Ilkevich with the attaché on culture issues of the Embassy of Colombia Andriana Castro Lopez
Master class of Cuban artist Omar Godines
One of the expositions of the exhibition of arts and crafts of the Republic of Guinea
An artist from Uzbekistan Fazliddin Kuziev
At the master class of Japanese artist Kaori Isidzima

I.A. Smirnova,

officer for international relations