Exclusively made from straw. An exhibition of paintings by an artist who dreamed of the sea has opened in Tver.
Herman Pudan He dreamed of becoming a sailor, but spent his entire life working as a geologist. He embodied his dream of the sea in unusual paintings "drawn" with straw. An exhibition of 17 works, "The Road of Dreams," opened recently at the Valentin Sidorov Museum of Painting in Tver.
Pudan discovered the technique of weaving flat straw by chance, and it became his primary passion. Over time, he learned to create complex, three-dimensional paintings depicting legendary Russian sailing ships. At the exhibition, each painting is accompanied by a text explaining the history of the sailing vessel. In addition to the sailing ship paintings, the exhibition features photographs of the artist's creative process, his tools, and fragments of his work.
"We are not talking about models, but about three-dimensional paintings with depth, worked out to the smallest details: the hull and sails of the ships are made of straw, burned in a special way to emphasize the volume; the standing and running rigging are made of twisted cotton or silk thread; the masts and yards are made of wood; and the sea waves are folds of dyed burlap." clarifies on his VK page his son Dmitry Pudan.
The master dedicated the last 40 years of his life to creating his "straw fleet." He completed 26 sailboats in total. At the end of 2022, his collection was exhibited at the Moscow Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh), and starting in February of this year, the collection began its "long voyage" through Russian cities. The master died on January 24th, not living to see this event.
Photo: from the VK page "Fleet of Herman Pudan"
