Draft:Valentine Ioppe
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Valentine Ioppe (Russian: Валентин Исидорович Иоппе, Valentin Isidorovich Ioppe; April 19, 1941 – January 4, 2025) was a Russian-Canadian artist and architect known for his paintings in styles ranging from abstract expressionism to realism. A graduate of the Moscow Architectural Institute, he was a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Architects of Russia. After emigrating to Canada in 1991, Ioppe continued his artistic career in Ontario, joining the Federation of Canadian Artists and participating in over 100 exhibitions internationally.[1] His works are held in private collections in Canada, the United States, Russia, Israel, Germany, and Spain.[2]
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Comment: This article is about a deceased Russian-Canadian artist with a career spanning over five decades, membership in the Union of Artists of Russia, international exhibitions, and published works.
April 19, 1941
Valentine Ioppe | |
|---|---|
Валентин Исидорович Иоппе | |
| Born | Valentin Isidorovich Ioppe April 19, 1941 |
| Died | January 4, 2025 (aged 83) Ontario, Canada |
| Education | Moscow Architectural Institute (MArchI), 1959–1967 |
| Known for | Painting, architecture, book illustration |
| Notable work | Kaleidoscope of Memory (memoir) |
| Movement | Abstract realism |
| Awards | International Contemporary Artists, Vol. XII (2012) and Vol. XVII (2017) |
Early life
Valentine Ioppe was born on April 19, 1941, in Odessa, in the Ukrainian SSR, into a Jewish family.[3] His father was an officer in the Red Army, and both parents were civil engineers who were fond of drawing.[3][4] Ioppe was an infant when Axis forces advanced on Odessa in 1941; his father secured a place for the family on one of the last trains leaving the city, and they escaped deeper into Soviet territory.[3][4]
His family name was originally Ioffe (Иоффе); his great-grandfather changed it to Ioppe to help his sons avoid long-term conscription into the Imperial Russian Army.[5]
Ioppe's father introduced him to art at an early age. He recalled that at the age of eight, his father showed him how to paint a landscape outdoors, an experience he described as formative.[3] Ioppe created his first painting independently at the age of 13.[1]
Education
From 1959 to 1967, Ioppe studied at the Moscow Architectural Institute (MArchI), one of the leading architectural schools in the Soviet Union.[6] There, he received training in both architecture and classical art. He devoted significant time to studying Russian constructivism, Modernism, and Post-Impressionism, alongside the academic curriculum.[1] In 1995, after emigrating to Canada, he completed an AutoCAD 3D Presentation course to continue his architectural practice.[6]
Career in the Soviet Union
After graduating, Ioppe worked primarily as an architect while devoting his free time to painting. It was in his forties that he began to focus more seriously on developing his own artistic style.[3] He cited Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Pavel Filonov, and Amedeo Modigliani as artistic influences.[1][3]
In 1980, Ioppe became a member of the National Union of Russian Artists (now the Union of Artists of Russia), a professional body requiring juried admission.[6] He was also a member of the Union of Architects of Russia.[6]
Ioppe exhibited with the Graphic Artists Group in Moscow in 1982 and participated in the First Exhibition of Abstract Art in Moscow in 1985.[7] He was involved with the Gorbachev Cultural Fund, which organized exhibitions and sales of his work abroad.[7]
During the Soviet period, Ioppe exhibited internationally in Bulgaria (1982), Czechoslovakia (1984), Germany (1985), Greece (1990), and later in Spain (1997) and France (1998).[6]
Career in Canada
Emigration
In 1991, Ioppe emigrated to Canada at the age of 50. In an interview with The Canadian Jewish News, he stated that he wanted to escape the political instability and antisemitism in Russia, and to help his son enroll at McGill University.[3] His first Canadian solo exhibition was held in Montreal in 1992.[7] He moved to Toronto in 1993 and later settled in Richmond Hill, Ontario.[3]
Exhibitions
In Canada, Ioppe participated in over 100 exhibitions.[1] He was a regular participant in the annual Richmond Hill Studio Art Tour and exhibited at the Mill Pond Gallery as a member of the Richmond Hill Group of Artists.[1][8] He was also a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Canadian branch of the International Watercolour Society.[6]
Notable Canadian exhibitions included:
- Personal exhibition, Boynton House, Richmond Hill (2016)
- TAVES Art Show, Sheraton Hotel, Toronto (2015)
- Gallery Hittite, Toronto (2015)
- Bathurst Clark Resource Library, Thornhill (2014)
- Richmond Hill Art School (2014)
- Creemore Town Art Show (2013)
- Moscow Gallery Dom Nashchekina, Moscow, Russia (2012)
- Ken's Art Gallery, Vaughan (2012)[1]
In September 2017, Ioppe was invited to participate and serve as a juror at the Italy Art Festival "A Palazzo Pontificio" at the Galleria "Il Collezionista" in Rome.[1][3]
Book illustration
After moving to Toronto, Ioppe also worked as a book illustrator. He created illustrations for The Dark Days of Love (1993) by Alex Markman,[9] The Lost Souls (1994) by Alex Markman, and Learn How to Eat (1997) by Dr. Alex Rivlin.[7] He also illustrated Canadian Stories by Elena Korotaev.[6]
Teaching
Ioppe taught art classes to students of various age groups for over 40 years. In Canada, he volunteered at the Richmond Hill Gallery and conducted classes for community members.[6]
Artistic style
Ioppe described himself as an "abstract realist," though he stated that his art could not be confined to any single movement.[3] His body of work encompassed a range of genres including abstraction, expressionist compositions, landscapes, floral works, still lifes, nudes, and graphic works.[6]
His early work in the Soviet Union was characterized by strong compositional structure, influenced by his architectural training, and featured bright colors contrasting with dark backgrounds.[7] He noted that his understanding of architecture and geometric form was an advantage in his abstract paintings.[3]
After emigrating, his style evolved: he allowed light to dissolve the formal structures of his subjects, producing series of the same motif at different times of day or year, such as his birch tree series depicting all four seasons.[7] His work employed oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas, watercolor, and mixed media.[6]
Publications
Ioppe authored Kaleidoscope of Memory (Russian: Калейдоскоп памяти), a memoir combining reflections on painting and architecture with recollections of his youth in the Soviet Union. The book was published by Ridero and is available through Litres.[5][10]
In 1990, while still in the Soviet Union, he wrote a theoretical article on art addressing the power of pure color, nonrepresentational painting, composition, and the psychology of artistic creation.[7]
He also published a short architectural thesis titled "Urbanization of the North" during his studies.[6]
Awards and recognition
Personal life and death
Ioppe was married twice. His first marriage was to Marina Gurevich (1971–1996), with whom he had a son, Igor, born in 1972.[4] He married Elena Korotaev in 2006; they remained together until his death.[4] He lived in Richmond Hill, Ontario, where he maintained a home studio.[3] Beyond visual art, Ioppe played guitar and piano, and wrote poetry in Russian.[4]
Ioppe died on January 4, 2025, from pneumonia caused by COVID-19.[4]