The exhibition “When You Breathe Living Soul into Clay…” was opened in the Treasury Chamber of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve. It presents articles of the potter Vladimir Kholshchagin who is the People’s Master of Russia.
Visitors of the display can appreciate the variety of articles made of red clay. There are different cooking utensils: jugs, mugs, pots, salt-cellars, garlic press and others. There are souvenirs and items destined for decoration of the interior: vases, decorative plates, figures of people and animals. Besides, the exhibition presents the article that was always necessary in the Russian every day life – a clay wash-stand. Some works are connected between each other thematically, for example, two floor vases “He” and “She”.
Vladimir Kholshchagin has been making earthenware for almost 30 years. He started to study pottery in Omsk, in the workshop of famous Russian master Vladimir Pekarin. He acquired very good basic knowledge there. He continued to study in Vologda communicating with art critic Elena Ilyina, pottery designers Tatiana Chistyakova, Tatiana Gorbatova, and potters from Cherepovets Sergey Lopatenko and Sergey Fenveshi.
“Traditional Russian pottery is my niche. There are a lot of people now who need and like the articles of really Russian folk interior. I use a potter’s wheel more often, but to create author’s items I sometimes apply other methods and the most ancient method of clay processing – glazing”, said Vladimir Kholshchagin.
The first workshop of the People’s Master of Russia was located in the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve from 2000 to 2005. Russian President Vladimir Putin went to see it during his visit to Kirillov in 2001.
The exhibition “When You Breathe Living Soul into Clay…” will be open till late June.
