Slava Tch

Slava Tch

Born into a family in which an older brother and an uncle were artists, Tch – raised in Russia - began painting when he was just 9 years old. He studied fine art as an undergraduate at Kharkov State University, in the Ukraine, and studied painting decorative art and interior design at the Kharkov Artistic-Industrial Institute. He received a master’s of fine arts from the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, which has a number of his works in its collection.

During the early years of his career, Tch painted with oil on canvas in a realistic manner. In addition he painted monumental murals and taught art. Many of his realistic paintings are in public collections in Germany and France and in private collections in countries around the world. After moving to Canada in 1995 with his wife, the painter Natalia Tch, and his daughter, Olga, Tch changed direction and began using the ancient encaustic method.

Encaustic painting was practiced by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B. C. It has always been a complicated process, one that depends on precise time management in the application of dry pigment, hot beeswax and paint to a paper, canvas or cardboard surface.

“I love to paint red on red or yellow on yellow. Each of my paintings includes numerous tones of one color to convey exactly what my eyes see and my heart feels. The process of painting engulfs me fully, and the melody of my paintings just lifts me up and sweeps me away.”

Tch uses the sculptural potential of melting wax and pigments to create luminous, three- dimensional worlds. In those worlds, neo-primitivism and abstract symbolism combine to express Tch’s yearning for the ideal. The places he depicts seem at once both mythical and sacramental. He said, “During the 15 years that I worked in Russia, I always explored various styles, and then I came to Canada and started working in encaustic media. It is my passion to work with complicated combinations of color.”

While all artists can identify a range of influences on their work, in the case of Slava Tch, the collaboration with his wife, Natalia, is especially noteworthy. Because they see the world in much the same way, from their aesthetic sensibility to the desire to use art to suggest the ideal, the two often work closely. Sometimes Slava’s work takes its direction from one of Natalia’s designs; sometimes it is affected by her technical or color suggestions. In his exploration of color, Tch produces works that remind one of the nuance, power and sensitivity one finds in the masterpieces of Vincent van Gogh and the appreciation of the sensuality of color one finds in the best of Henri Matisse.

“There is always the possibility that I will change my style; however, my main focus will always remain the harmony of tone and color in the painting.”