Igor Tulipanov

Who is Igor Tulipanov?

Igor Tulipanov is a Russian-American painter born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1939. He lives and works in the U.S.A. since May 1979. Igor is married to Elena Tulipanov, also a painter, since 1977. Igor Tiulpanov employs Surrealist imagery in his meticulous illusionistic paintings, incorporating stylistic elements from Leonardo da Vinci, Hieronymus Bosch, and Jan van Eyck. These paintings are pictorial retracings of the artist's subconscious and show characteristics of what Freud called "dream work," including the existence of contrary elements side by side, the condensation of two or more objects or images, and the use of objects that have symbolic value. Igor Tulipanov is influenced by and sometimes incorporates whole scenes from Hieronymus Bosch in his paintings. The symbols Tulipanov uses, various statues of pagan gods, spectacles, books, tears, eggs, mirrors pass from painting to painting but the meaning of each symbol changes depending on the painting. What remains always is the incredible detail, the logic in his compositions, the precision of his tiny brush strokes, his infatuation with the world and its mysteries. Sometimes it takes a year to finish a painting, sometimes even longer. Igor Tulipanov's purpose is to create a world harmonious and complicated in its simplicity, a world that exists in his imagination. His paintings are exhibited in private collections and museums of the U.S.A., Russia, Japan, Argentina, and other countries.