Nedelay Irene
Irene was born in Siberia. My home town is Novosibirsk. In 1940, my father’s family were deported to Siberia from Belarus. The deportation was a horrible experience for the family. My father wrote memoirs about it and his childhood. His stories helped me to understand who I am, and now it is my experience too. I lived in Siberia for 38 years. Every summer, I visited Siberian villages and went to the taiga (a dense forest of pine trees that spreads over thousands miles). There are many different people in the taiga who look like Mongolian and live like their ancestors lived. They speak different languages, believe in spirits of nature and old Siberian gods, and consider the taiga their home. I went to Khakassia, the area with salt lakes and steppes (a large aria of land without trees). I was impressed by Khakassian who feel more comfortable sitting on a back of the horse than walking on a ground. I went to Baikal Lake and Buryat villages near Baikal where people live in Mongolian stile yurts. I went to Altai Mountains which are the part of Tibet and where people believe in shamanism. They visit shamans to heal children, to find out who is a thief, and to ask death ancestors about the future. I studied painting in The Art School #1 of Novosibirsk and in The Fine Arts Department of Novosibirsk Pedagogical University. I taught painting children and adults in art schools, worked in publishing houses, made monumental art and painted paintings. As an artist I participated in many group exhibitions in Novosibirsk. In 2000, I had my first one-woman show that was organized with the help of the Soros Foundation in Novosibirsk. In 2001, after my father’s death, I completely changed my life and moved to Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In Saint-Petersburg I painted a great deal and my pictures were frequently accepted for exhibition. I had one-woman shows and participated in a large number of group exhibitions in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and other cities of Russia. In 2007-2008, I had a one-woman show “Traume Vom Sommer” in Artefactum Gallery and Halbtotal Film Studio in Wiesbaden, Germany. Living in Saint-Petersburg, I visited many countries in Europe, such as Greece, Finland, Spain, Germany, and it was a new experience that influenced me and my art. In 2009 I moved to America. Since then, I have lived in New York City and try to integrate in the new culture.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2013, Do Not Talk to Strangers, Suminski Gallery, Tivoli, NY
2013, Way to the Inner Self, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
2013, Way to the Inner Self, Marianne Hultberg Private Collection, Moscow, Russia
2013, Traume Vom Sommer, Albert Mergel Gallery, Wiesbaden, Germany
2012, Siberia – New York, Transit, Mezzanine Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2012 Siberiana by Irene Nedelay, Suminski Gallery, Tivoli, NY
2012, New Works by Irene Nedelay, Murray Berman Art and the J Gallery, Bernikow JCC, Staten Island, NY
2011 Siberian Spirits, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, USA
2011, Dolls of Siberia. Exhibition and Workshop, Bernikow JCC, Staten Island, NY, USA
2011, Siberian Dolls. Workshop, National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY, USA
2010, The Inside of Poetry, Sfumato Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2008, The Territory of Love, Rosvuzdesign Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2008, La Vie Devant Soi, Mansarda Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2008, Traume Vom Sommer, Halbtotal Film Studio, Wiesbaden, Germany
2007, Traume Vom Sommer, Artefactum Gallery, Wiesbaden, Germany
2006, Territory of the Woman, Mansarda Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2006, Flowers and People, Lermontov State Library, St.Petersburg, Russia
2005, Christmas Imaginations, Art Center Valencia, St.Petersburg, Russia
2003, Christmas Fantasy, Valencia Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2002, From Siberia to Petersburg, Borey Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2000, Goodbye, the 2000 Years!, Globus Central Theater, Novosibirsk, Russia
2000, The Wheel Epoch, George Soros Foundation, Novosibirsk, Russia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2013 Celebrate!, Riverside Public Library Gallery, New York, NY
2013 D.I.V.A.S., N.A.W.A. Online Gallery, New York, NY
2013 NAWA 124th Annual Exhibition, Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Clothing Optional, N.A.W.A. Gallery, New York, NY
2013 The Woman of N.A.W.A. Exposed, GoggleWorks Center for the Art, Reading, PA
2013 Ev(e)olution III, Riverside Public Library Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Coming of Age, Riverside Public Library, New York, NY
2012 NAWA 123rd Annual Show, Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Spring, Midday Gallery, Englewood, NJ
2012 HERstorically Speaking, Johnson&Johnson World Headquarters Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ
2012 Annual Open Small Works Exhibition, N.A.W.A. Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Exhibit of Grantee Works, Center for the Arts Atrium, CSI, Staten Island, NY
2011 Holiday Art Show, OneArtSpace Gallery, Tribeca, New York, NY, USA
2011 New Member’s Exhibition, N.A.W.A., Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
2011 Awakenings, New Sentury Artists Inc., Chelsea, New York, NY, USA
2011 Summer Highlights, New Sentury Artists Inc., New York, NY, USA
2011 Art Lab’s Open Show, Snug Hurbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY, USA
2010 Sisters, Mitki Art Center, St.Petersburg, Russia
2009 Labels, Red Sailor and Mitki Art Group Project, St.Petersburg-Moscow-Ekaterinburg, Russia
2008 In Captivity of Animals and Birds, Center of Books and Design, St.Petersburg, Russia
2008 Christmas Exhibition, Mitki Art Center, St.Petersburg, Russia
2007 The Release from Kitchen Slavery, The State Museum of Political History, St.Petersburg, Russia
2006 Flowers, Mansarda Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
2003 The Gallery Anniversary Exhibition, Valencia Art Gallery, St.Petersburg, Russia
1996 The Golden Toad, The Underground Artists and Poets Center, Novosibirsk, Russia
1994 Singers and Artists, Black Widow Cultural Center, Novosibirsk, Russia
1993 Underground Artists and Markellov Voices Chorus, Svetcha Cultural Center, Novosibirsk, Russia
1992 The 17 Invisible Men, The Sobering-up Station, Novosibirsk, Russia
1991 The 17 Invisible Men, The Underground Artists and Poets Center, Novosibirsk, Russia
1990 The Golden Toad, The Underground Artists and Poets Center, Novosibirsk, Russia