ZUFAR
BIKBOV
ZUFAR BIKBOV’s interest in painting came early in life from the influence
of his father, a well-respected specialist in engineering. His father’s dream
to become an artist could not be realized in post WWII Soviet Union
during Stalin’s regime. Although his father was accepted to Nicolai
Fechin's Art school in Kazan (Russia), he had to switch to the school
of Engineering and Architecture. “My dad never pushed me into an
art career”, recalls Zufar, “however, albums of my father’s watercolors
and a library of Russian Fine Art at our home, along with my father’s
paints and brushes – this environment became fertile soil for artistic
talent to grow."
Zufar began drawing and painting classes at age nine. He was eleven
when he painted his first plein air pieces, depicting nearby village
cottages and a horse resting next to a carriage delivering pies to the
local market. He found this kind of painting more immediate than
painting a still-life or a model in the studio. He fell in love with
landscape painting and started exploring the language of direct
expression— of what was just in front of him.
When the time came to choose a college and profession, his need
to help people led Zufar to a medical career. During his study in
medical school, residency, and finally a move to the United States,
art was never left behind and continued to be an essential part of
his life. Zufar was honored to participate in the exhibit “Doctors
Paint” in the State Museum of Fine Arts in Kazan and at Yale Medical School.
Zufar’s landscape style leans towards Russian and Soviet era Impressionism. For him art is a continuous experimentation and growth area. More than a decade of traveling and painting in the US has brought his painting palette to a higher key and forged friendships all over the country.
In 2012, he entered the world of competitive plein air painting in the United States, winning numerous awards in the process. Among those, Zufar treasures most the Artist Choice Award at Plein Air Easton (Maryland), a "Medal of Honor and Merit" from Kent Art Association (the first art organization in the US he joined), the Hudson Valley Art Association Gold Medal, and The Irvine Museum Award, received during the Laguna Plein Air national competition (Laguna Beach, California). He has continued to be invited back to these and many other prestigious competitions year after year and plans to continue competing in 2022.
His works are widely represented in private collections in the United States – from New England to California, and abroad, in the UK, Spain, and, of course, in Russia.
Zufar has many followers of his art and considers teaching art a privilege.
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Biography and image courtesy of artist website at https://www.zufar.com/about.
![]() Guillmett House12x9, Oil |
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