SOLD
Josh Tiessen
In This Birch Grove
Oil on panel
30.5 x 31.5 inches
Signed
Josh Tiessen
Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc., New York City
Like most of my paintings, I planned this work far in advance. My initial desire was to explore Russian culture through a serene wintery landscape. I was born in Moscow and have fond memories of living in the large city of Krasnodar, in southern Russia. I still remember the beautiful onion-domed cathedrals, silver birch trees, and folk tales with Mishka the bear.
As I began painting this work, Russia's war on Ukraine broke out, sparking worldwide sanctions and resurrecting Cold War sentiments. Considering all this I wondered how my painting would be interpreted. As I detailed an old Russian Orthodox church, I thought it might represent the Orthodox patriarchy complicit with former KGB-head Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine. This abandoned wooden stave church and grave markers symbolize millions of Christians and political dissidents exiled to Siberian concentration camps under Stalin and the Soviet Union.
My parents are still in touch with Russian and Ukrainian colleagues, and their former students living on both sides of the border. They are all praying for and promoting peace through humanitarian efforts. War is a horrific atrocity. Especially troubling is that innocent civilians are often the casualties, whether Ukrainians caught in the crossfire or Russians conscripted to fight, or those jailed for protesting their government's actions. The global community takes sides, demonizing whole swaths of people, failing to distinguish between them and their totalitarian dictators. My painting represents a more nuanced approach.
Depicting Sophia meeting a wild Kamchatka Brown Bear (Russia's national emblem), my intention is for this moment of tender connection to be seen as a gesture of peace that is on offer when Lady Wisdom is heeded. In the face of a carnivorous predator Sophia is remarkably calm as she stretches out her hand to pet him. She knows that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” [i] The title for this painting comes from a famous poem written by Nikolai Zabolotsky, "In This Birch Grove” (1946), a reflection on collective anguish and misery, but also the future hope when all wars will cease.”
Josh Tiessen
Artist
[i] Proverbs 15:1
BIOGRAPHY - Josh Tiessen Born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia, Josh Tiessen is an international award-winning artist based near Toronto, Canada. Tiessen is best known for his hyper-surreal shaped oil paintings, which take up to 1700 hours to complete, and reflect the interaction between the natural world and human-made structures, drawing upon his studies in philosophy and theology.
As a young artist Tiessen was designated one of the world's top ten prodigy artists by Huffington Post, and the only known male art prodigy in North America by Dr. J. Ruthsatz, global prodigy expert. As a teenager he was juried in as the youngest member of International Guild of Realism among foremost realist artists from around the world, Artists for Conservation and Society of Animal Artists, elite groups of the top nature and wildlife artists worldwide. Art Renewal Center designated him Associate Living Master, and New York based gallery Jonathan LeVine Projects awarded him First Place from 2000 artists in their international competition Search for the Next Great Artist. LeVine presented the emerging artist’s debut international solo exhibition “Streams in the Wasteland” in May of 2019.
Mentored by masters like acclaimed Canadian artist Robert Bateman, Tiessen has exhibited his work since 2006 in over 100 exhibitions including the National Gallery of Canada and prominent galleries in the United States. He has sold over 150 original works and hundreds of limited edition giclée prints to private and corporate Canadian and international collectors.
Featured over 200 times in the press & media (Forbes, American Art Collector, International Artist), speaking and teaching at 60 venues, and making 90 invited art donations to charitable organizations, Tiessen established the Arts for a Change Foundation. This prolific artist has garnered over 60 awards and honours including International Guild of Realism Creative Achievement, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and Canada's Top 20 Under 20, for his artistic accomplishment and philanthropic work.
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| | AVAILABLE WORKS | |
 Josh Tiessen Concept for The Kairos Stones Graphite on paper 6.5 x 10 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Concept for Refracting Infinity Graphite on paper 11 x 7.5 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Alpha and Omega Oil on panel 31 x 47 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Greening the White Cube Oil on panel 23 x 40 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Creation Cathedral Oil on panel 35 x 24 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen The Ferret Trials Oil on panel 12 x 12 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Momento Mori Oil on panel 36 x 24 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Swallowed by Knowledge Oil on panel 30 x 40 x 2 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen All Creatures Lament Oil on panel 26 x 26 x 2 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Nirvana 5G Oil on panel 36 x 24 x 2 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Concept for Swallowed by Knowledge Graphite on paper 6 x 8 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Concept for Nirvana 5G Graphite on paper 10 x 6.5 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Concept for Creation Cathedral Graphite on paper 8 x 6 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Concept for Greening the White Cube Graphite on paper 6.5 x 10 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen All Creatures Praise Oil on panel 14 x 10 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Auguries of Innocence III Oil on birch 8 x 8 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen The Kairos Stones Oil on birch 18 x 40 x 2 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Peace Like a River Oil on panel 33 x 34 x 2 inches Signed |  Josh Tiessen Sophia Oil on panel 24 inch diameter Signed |  Josh Tiessen Refracting Infinity Oil on panel 36 x 24 x 2 inches Signed |
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