Unique artworks by Rem to be exhibited in Wilmington (03/16/03)

Unique artworks by Rem to be exhibited in Wilmington

by Sophia V. Bilinsky

WILMINGTON, Del. - Internationally acclaimed artist Rem Bahautdyn will exhibit his unique masterpieces here at Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church hall on March 29-30.

Mr. Bahautdyn works in a unique style - a combination of metal relief and traditional painting. His technique, which he calls metaloplasty, requires a jeweler's level of precision in the creation of the various scenes which are done in silver, 24-karat gold and brass. The final step is the painting of the pieces to add life, vibrancy and color to the exquisite and elegant detail of the metal relief.

Born in 1927 in Kazan, in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Rem, as he is known, was raised there with his brother and sister by their parents until their arrest in 1937. Rem's father was shot by the NKVD and his mother was sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in concentration camps, leaving the children to be raised as orphans. At the age of 10, Rem and his younger brother were sent to Ukraine, where they became part of the orphanage system. In 1941, in advance of the German occupation of Ukraine, Rem and his brother were sent to the Kirghiz SSR in Central Asia. In 1945 Rem escaped to Kyiv and lived in an orphanage for talented children sponsored by the Ukrainian poet Pavlo Tychyna, the minister of culture in Ukraine at the time. Rem studied at the Kyiv Art School until 1951, when he attended the Academy of Arts and Science in Kyiv. He graduated in 1956 and began his professional career.

Rem's early work consisted of oil paintings, mosaic reliefs, book illustrations, monuments and other commissioned work. During this era of Communist domination of Ukraine, Rem also earned a living by doing political and commercial posters. Several of his works from that period won awards and are now hanging in museums throughout Ukraine.

In 1960 Rem was accepted to the Artists' Union of Ukraine, where he eventually became a member of its executive council. Throughout this period, Rem struggled with the oppression of his creativity and the lack of artistic and other freedoms. Living under communism, in an environment where religion was outlawed and spirituality was repressed, was especially difficult for Rem, whose works have a very religious, spiritual and historical basis.

In 1972, while on vacation in Bulgaria, Rem defected with only his camera in his pocket and his lifelong dream of being able to create art without reprisal as his beacon. From Bulgaria, he went to Yugoslavia and finally to Austria, where with the help of the Tolstoy Foundation he became an Austrian citizen. After six months as an Austrian citizen, in 1973 the Tolstoy Foundation supported the artist's immigration to the United States, where he began to live and work in New York City.

Rem's first exhibit was sponsored in 1974 by the Union of Ukrainian Artists in America in New York City, where his works were displayed along with those of other Ukrainian artists. By 1978, Rem had earned enough acclaim to have his first solo exhibit which was held at the Christina Czorpital Home Gallery located at that time in Philadelphia.

It was also around that time that Rem perfected his own unique style of art - the marriage of exquisitely detailed metal relief and traditional painting. To his knowledge, to this day he is the only artist who works in this technique, which requires a unique paint formulation developed by the artist and not commercially available.

Since 1978 Rem has exhibited his works throughout the United States and Canada. He was asked to lecture about his technique to the Rochester Art School. One of his largest and most complex works currently hangs in the Ukrainian Room at the University of Pittsburgh. This piece is made up of 52 individual sections and took one and a half years to complete.

Rem's works are based on both spiritual and populist themes. His non-secular works include scenes in nature (e.g., "Butterflies," "Aquarium"), Ukrainian cultural scenes (e.g., "Pysanka," "Three Graces"), stories or fables (e.g., "Dovbush's Treasure") and lastly, legendary/historical events (e.g., "Baptism of Ukraine").

His pieces have strong, elegant lines executed with exacting detail, which make the three-dimensional metal relief scenes jump out at the viewer from their velvet frames. The application of specialized paint further enhances each scene, adding primary and pastel colors to the otherwise silver, gold and brass pieces. Rem's icons, based on traditional iconography, are noted for the fine detail in his subjects' faces portrayed in metal relief, enhanced by his specialized painting technique.

Wilmington's Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church will host this artist on March 28-29 in his first ever exhibit in Delaware. Exhibit hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information and to view more artworks by Rem, readers may go to the events section of the parish website: www.sspeterandpauluoc.org.

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