Vitaly Patsyukov

Head of Artistic and Interdisciplinary Programs Department National Center for Contemporary Art (NCCA)

The literary works of Yuri Ulyashev in this artistic coordinate system become signs, symbols of fundamental traditional cultures, peculiar hieroglyphs immersed in the flickering stained glass alphabet of the classical message.

The archetypal plots and characters of Yuri Ulyashev discover in the paradox's organics unexpected connections between the Russian fairy tale and the magical folklore of the "land of dense grasses" of South America.

Their imagery is born naturally, they develop as organisms, forgetting about their individuality, matrix autonomy. Their penchant for simplicity and at the same time for Baroque sophistication allows them to form new sequences, solemnly marching to perfection.

The art of Yuri Ulyashev naturally exists in the artistic system of the folk avant-garde. With extreme selflessness, plastic objects are built on the principle of self-similarity, as if outlined by a laser beam, generating an uninterrupted process close to that of the development of a crystal. The artist contrasts the formal gesture accorded to innovation with the certainty of tradition. Her imagery includes the rayonism of Mikhail Larionov, the structural poetics of Natalia Goncharova and the Orphic cubism of Alexander Volkov, coupled with the relevance of the strategy of "new sincerity".

Portraying animals, the artist not only upholds the environmental principles and ethics of the relationship of modern man with the reality surrounding him, but also forms new sociocultural communications, where the artifact is in harmonic balance, the boundary situation between the subject and the object. This visual language brings a work of art very close to the viewer, allows one to examine its details, tactilely experience its spatial coordinates, and at the same time, these styles dictate an extremely personal beginning, as if toppling the space of an artistic event on us. This action opens another iconology, combining the personal optics of the artist with a reverse perspective, giving the specificity of the image a deeply symbolic beginning.

Natalia Kolodzei

Honourable Member
of the Russian
Academy of Arts

Uliashev's mastery of oil painting is evident in his use of different strokes, textures, and impasto,
not to mention his bold yet subtle use of color. His paintings delightfully combine realistic and graphic elements, perhaps aided by his successful career
in advertising.

The Moscow-based artist Yuri Ulyashev
is impressively versatile in the subject matter
and technique of his paintings, which vary from cheerful still lifes to sardonic depictions
of animals with human accessories.

John Varoli

Fine Art in a Time of Viral Fear

A few days before our current viral madness, I was fortunate to have the chance to meet up with with a talented artist and interesting personality from Moscow, Yuri Ulyashev. His art works are in private collections in Russia and the USA.

He's been displayed at the International Art Festival in New York, the Texas Contemporary Exhibition in Houston, Margo Gallery in New York, the Russian Art Museum in New Jersey, and the Moscow Skolkovo Business School.

During his 15 years as a journalist, John Varoli wrote about art and culture for New York Times, Bloomberg News and The Art Newspaper.

Today, he continues to write as a sharp observer of the art scene in New York City, always keen to discover new and exciting talent. In his free time, he is an amateur historian who researches and documents the forgotten history of New York.

I previously only knew Yuri's works from group exhibitions — he was last shown in Manhattan in November, at a large art festival in Chelsea. While touring that exhibition, my saturated eyes easily gravitated to Yuri's painting, "Chimpanzee Music Lover"...