Moscow-born Nickolay Manuylov, aka “Kuk,” began his career as an underground artist in Stalin’s USSR.
It was an era when the art that Kuk, his late wife Lidiya Kirillova, and other nonconforming artists made was illegal. The mythological and esoteric worlds the Kuks explored through paintings and sculpture were outside the restrictive bounds of representational “Soviet Realism” permitted by a government intent on the control of its citizens perceptions and ideas.
After Stalin’s death, “the Kuks,” as Nikolay and Lidiya were known, as well as other nonconforming artists in Moscow, no longer faced jail for creating but they were still prevented from exhibiting their work in official venues (which included most available exhibit space) or from joining unions on which artists’ livelihoods and careers depended. However, they persisted in following their vision. Their work achieved international acclaim. Its impact on Russian society, in particular, after decades of governance that denied alternative realities was profound.
Today Kuk, 88, is a resident artist at Birch Circle Nature Retreat on 70 acres in Hancock. The work he was able to bring with him (his own and Kirillova’s) when he emigrated during the Russian invasion of Crimea, Ukraine, is now on view at the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough, along with more-recent work created here in New Hampshire.
The exhibit, which also includes some pieces made by Kirillova, who was deeply involved in astrology, is open Wednesdays through Sundays at the Mariposa, located at 26 Main St. in Peterborough, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is accessible to people in wheelchairs.
The public is invited to meet this new New Hampshire resident and internationally acclaimed artist at a reception at the Mariposa, with a question-and-answer discussion, on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. The event is free for Mariposa members and $10 for nonmembers. Wine and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.
The Mariposa Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization fostering peace and understanding across cultural boundaries.