Art of Ramiz Netovkin is instantly greyed houses and courtyards that have seen both the joy and the tragedy of the people – like vines that are looking for support, are drawn to people, silently crying out to conscience, telling about the fragility of life. The Almighty bestowed upon the master a divine talent and a magic pen, anxiously flying away beyond the horizon of the Crimean mountains, to return and shed Ramiz’s bright gift to the canvas.
Ayder Aliyev
Crimea as a mirage
The main theme of creativity of Ramiz Netovkin is associated with the nature and architecture of the Crimean peninsula. After graduating from the Simferopol Art School, he immediately managed to identify his main theme in art, without spending much time on creative research for his subject matter. And the origins of this phenomenon and the success of the formation of the Crimean theme leads us into the childhood period of the artist when parents told him about faraway historical homeland, images of the midday Crimea, with its archaic layers of civilizations, arose in the imagination of the future master. These impressions, repeated visits to the Crimea in adolescence and a passion for drawing, shown from childhood, inevitably led the artist to the theme of the passing Crimea.
The inner world of the artist and his state of mind found a means of expression in the visual arts, and his professional knowledge provided an excellent ground for discovering his talent.
The first works of the master were made in black and white. They are imbued with a special love for the monuments of the past – these are forgotten and abandoned corners of the Crimea, where life once flowed. They feel the poetic vision of the world, captured as a certain chronicle of the events of the past, no longer with a camera or video and cinematographic equipment, but with ink and a pen. Creating real objects in the picture, the artist used the organic interweaving of the plant world for compositional expressiveness. The artist feels and conveys through the details, the beauty of the fading old Crimea, with delight draws motifs – delicate arabesques of thin branches of trees with a part of the architectural form, be it a portal, a window lattice or a balcony. This impulsive manner of drawing, like lace, as something woven and valuable, conveys in the work that figurative mood and philosophical depth of the transience of time and the fragility of the world. This harmonious whole of nature and national architecture sounds in graphic compositions like the melody of a flute from the depths of antiquity.
The artist designed a series of books and created illustrations that were published in the publishing houses Tavria, Dolya, and also periodically published in the magazine Qasevet. The artist comes another stage of creativity, in which he conveys his impressions of the surrounding world through colour. To such a traditional technique like paper, ink, pen, watercolour, and mixed technique are added. For many years of creative period, Netovkin created hundreds of drawings in various techniques, many of which are combined with a specific theme: “The Fading Crimea”, “Bakhchisarai My Soul”, “Gray Alushta”, “ Kastamonu ”, and also created a number of graphic sheets dedicated to Qarasubazar, his native city . In many graphic series, there is no human presence. However, compositional expressiveness is achieved using different angles, the ratio of large silhouettes of architecture and flora. These deserted streets and houses in the paintings have a certain appeal and a certain tension in which a lyrical and tragic note is felt, particles of the artist’s state of mind.
D. Dzhankozzi
Ramiz’s genius was recognized during his lifetime, and his work entered in the heritage of the world and Crimean-Tatar art.
Dear to his heart house
The day before Ramiz’s departure to Turkey, I went to visit him in Qarasuvbazar. I brought him catalogues, booklets and an album of Crimean-Tatar artists by I.Zaatov for his library in Sudak. He was very pleased with this meeting. Although his state of health was unimportant, he did not show this, rather did not think about it and spoke with great optimism about his art plans. On this unforgettable day, we had a long conversation. Ramiz showed me dearly to his heart courtyard, told me about every little thing, where and how he used them in his graphic works. He lovingly talked about grapes, raspberries, flowers, and everything that grew in his garden.
We talked a lot in the workshop, where everything was in the right place: tools, paint, mascara… All his works were folded on the shelves in folders, signed by topic and date.
Then he showed me everything that was. These were his early works of the student period: sketches with pen and ink, pencil, watercolour sketches of thirty years ago. He had prepared by themes and folded graphic sheets for future exhibitions. Ramiz carefully and very seriously prepared for each exhibition.
While we were watching the works, his wife Lily prepared unforgettably tasty sarma from grape leaves. We ate and praised it together with Ramiz, enjoying the amazing creation of the domestic goddess, in the creation of which it was dominated by peace and mutual understanding, which she created.
Lilya was next to him then, three years ago, when Ramiz was treated in a TB dispensary in Feodosia, she was next to him when he was in an ophthalmologic clinic, in the 6th city hospital of Simferopol … and in Turkey, all the way until the end of her life, she was next to him … Thanks to this fragile and charming woman incredible care, kindness, love, and support, she inspired Ramiz to productive creativity.
But, unfortunately, now he has gone. Nobody can replace him: a peculiar, talented artist, very modest, wonderful friend. We will miss him. But he, as an artist of the past and future, will remain in the series of his works “The Fading Crimea”, “Old Belogorsk”, “ Eastern Crimea”, “Bakhchisarai”, “Sevastopol”, “Gray Alushta”, “Sudak”, “Old Crimea” etc.
Reference: Ramiz Netovkin was born in 1960. In the village Almazar, Tashkent region. In 1975 moved to the Crimea. In 1980 graduated from Simferopol Art College named. N.S. Samokisha, painting department. Winner of the Bekir Prize Choban -Zade in the nomination “For the best work reflecting the past, present, and future of Qarasubazar.” Since 1983 the participant of regional, republican, foreign exhibitions. He worked in the book and easel graphics. Solo exhibitions were held in the cities: Simferopol, Bakhchisarai, Evpatoria, Alushta, Moscow, Tartu (Estonia), Warsaw, Lublin (Poland), New York, Kastamonu (Turkey).
Works in the collections of the Simferopol Art Museum, the Republican Crimean Tatar Museum of Art, as well as in private collections in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Estonia, Germany, USA.
