The exhibition of the Irbit State Museum of Fine Arts features an etching “Geologists” by Aleksey Semyonovich Gordeyev.

The etching is characterized by a dramatic, almost poster-like style. In the background, Aleksey Gordeyev depicted the majestic snow-covered Altai Mountains. In the foreground, there are the geologists and their horses. One of the geologists is holding a rifle. It is difficult to discern the details of their figures, as the artist presented them as dark silhouettes against a snow-white mountain backdrop. The characters do not seem intimidated at all by the harsh nature, they are calm and full of admiration. The print was based on the technique of etching with aquatint which is used in an unusual way. Typically, artists use aquatint to create a background with a soft and velvety effect. In this case, Aleksey Gordeyev used the technique to depict a winter scene with a blizzard and delicate snowflakes.

Aleksey Gordeyev started his career as a landscapist, but he could not fully capture the harsh beauty and power of the Altai region in oil painting. He found that a strict graphic style was better suited for this and began to master linocut, a technique that was popular in the 1960s. This is how Aleksey Gordeyev became a graphic artist. His work was also influenced by the popular austere style which is seen as a kind of protest against the socialist realism that was prevalent in the late Stalin era. The minimalism, sharp black-and-white contrasts, along with the emotional and bold strokes of linocut and etching, became the hallmark of the austere style in graphic arts.

As an avid traveler, Aleksey Gordeyev often visited Gornaya Shoriya. His favorite genre was industrial landscape. In the 1950s and 1960s, Kuzbass experienced an active exploration of natural resources and the development of industries. Large industrial facilities were built there. People were proud to work as miners, metallurgists, and builders. Ordinary workers became the main subjects of literature and art. The beautiful nature of boundless Siberia and the mighty Altai attracted strong-willed people who sought romance, adventure, and challenges. The artist devoted several series of prints to this mountain region, including “Gornaya Shoriya”, “Ore of Shoriya”, and “My Shoriya”. Gordeyev was sometimes criticized for his simplified approach and opportunism, but it was in linocut and etching that he created some brilliant works that are nowadays displayed in museums.