Kolosov Aleksey

1892 — 1972

Aleksey Alexandrovich Kolosov was born in 1892 in Moscow. He has been painting since childhood. At the age of 18, he began his art education by studying at Moscow University. During the First World War, he fought under the command of the famous General Brusilov in 1916-1918 in Romania. At the end of the war, he joined the artistic association “Bytie” (“Existence”) and at the same time taught mathematics at the post-revolutionary retraining college for proletarians. He participated in all exhibitions of this art association. His paintings “Breakfast” and “Pregnant Women” were noted as the best at the Sixth exhibition of “Bytie”. Aleksey Kolosov studied with such famous artists as Konstantin Yuon and Alexander Osmerkin.

In the early 1920s, the artist worked as a freelance artist at the Dulyovo porcelain factory in Moscow. The works created by him are represented in the Dulyovo Museum of porcelain. In 1922, one of his works was presented to Lenin. In the second half of the 1920s, he developed equipment for the “Dramatic Courses at the State Academic Maly Theater of Russia” (now the Higher Theater School named after M. Shchepkin), and also worked as an artistic director at the theater itself.

Since 1932, with the closure of the “Bytie” and “Jack of Diamonds” groups, Kolosov no longer participated in official exhibitions in the Soviet Union. Before World War II, the artist broke off all relations with artistic associations, but he painted until the end of his life. Unfortunately, there are no records or references to Kolosov’s artistic career after 1930s until his death in 1972. Already after the artist’s death, his works were exhibited at exhibitions in the Czech Republic and Germany, and in the Alster-Galerie gallery in Hamburg a personal exhibition of the artist was held. After more than half a century break the artworks of the artist are presented to the general public in Russia.

Artworks by Aleksey Kolosov are represented in the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.