Timur Novikov, St. Petersburg Art Catalyst, Dies at 44

Timur Novikov passed away on May 23, 2002, in St. Petersburg, Russia. A pivotal figure for nearly twenty years, he was an artist, writer, theoretician, and teacher. His career began in 1977 within the unofficial Soviet art scene as a member of the group "Letopis" (Chronicle). In the early 1980s, he established the New-Artists-Group, an early federation aiming to merge art with life. He co-founded the "Friends-of-Majakovsky"-Club in 1986. Between 1990 and 1991, Novikov initiated the neo-academism movement, which drew heavily from classical heritage and bodily beauty. He founded the New Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg in 1993, leading neo-academism to become the city's most prominent and internationally recognized art movement of the past decade. His work was shown in solo exhibitions at institutions including the Museum Moderner Kunst/Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, the Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Mücsarnok Art Hall in Budapest, the Center of Fine Arts in Miami, the Frederic R. Weismann Art Foundation in Malibu, Espace Monjouart in Paris, and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. He also participated in numerous group exhibitions both in Russia and internationally.