Yury Lobo
Born:
On 31st of October 1947 (age 77)
in Brandenburg/Havel, Germany
Nationality:
Ukrainian
Citizenship:
US-American
Education:
Kharkov Elementary School #88 (1954-1959)
Tula/Kiev Suvorov Military Cadet School (1959-1966)
Kiev National Linguistic University (1967-1972)
Majors: German and English
Known for:
Painting and writing
Movements:
Abstract Expressionism, Abstract and Expressionist Portraits and Landscapes, Abstracubism, Dada, Collage, Pop Art, Ready-mades, Cartoons
Credits:
Yury Lobo is credited with invention of Abstracubism and a new literary genre Liliputins ( Íåñêàçàíèöû ). He also is author and publisher of the first Russian-American Phone Directory of Florida "Russian Yellow Pages" (2003) and was one of the co-founders and Vice Presidents of Russian-American Community Association in Miami, Florida (2000).
Contents:
1 Personal life
2.1 Childhood and education
2.2 Professional career
3. Documentary
4. Art
5. Artist Statement
6. External links
7. Contacts
1. Personal life
Yury Slobodenyuk, known as "Yury Lobo" (born 31st October 1947), is an internationally acclaimed Ukrainian-American visual artist. Yury Lobo is known for his breadth of abstract work, pop-art, collage, ready-mades, posters, cartoons and portraits. Throughout his artistic career he has produced a significant quantity of works, which are represented in various private collections throughout the world. His art follows the example of Picasso in undermining the concept of the artist's obligation to maintain a single cohesive style. However, Yury considers himself first and foremost an 'abstract expressionist,' and this stems from a pivotal moment from his childhood: in July 1959, Yury and his mother happened upon the First American National Exhibition in Moscow, which featured Jackson Pollock’s masterpiece, “Cathedral”. The young boy who grew up behind the iron curtain was both amazed and shocked by such an abstract painting. Of course, at the only 11 years old in Communist Russia, Yury knew little about Modern Art or Jackson Pollock, but the impact of the piece was imprinted in his subconscious and this moment would significantly change and determine the trajectory of his life forever. Later in his professional life, his interests became centered on artists of the Avant-garde and particularly on German expressionism represented by Bridge movement artists. He claims his favorite artists are (just to name a few): Van Gogh, Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich, Duchamp, Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Brague, Klee, Warhol, Rothko, Richter, and, of course, Pollock. Yury has said, "These artists give me the creative impulse just to open up and paint 'from the hip' trusting only my own inner instincts, pouring my bursting energy in bold colors on the canvas."
2.1 Childhood and education
2.2 Life stations
2.3 Professional career
Yury Slobodenyuk, also called "Yury Lobo," was born on October 31st 1947, in a Soviet Military hospital near Brandenburg/Havel, Germany, where his father, Vladimir Slobodenyuk (a Lieutenant of the Red Army), had been stationed since the end of WWII (from 1945 to 1950). Yury's father met and married Yury's mother Galina Slobodenyuk (nee Shupik)(1924-2023) in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1946. In 1950, Vladimir Slobodenyuk (1924-2008) and his family were transferred back to the USSR.
Yury grew up in rural Russia in a very conservative environment, where ”No Trespassing” signs were hanging on every door. From the age of seven, Yury attended a number of different middle schools in Russia and Ukraine until he was sent to the Tula/Kiev Suvorov Military Cadet School in 1959. He graduated at the top of his class in 1966, but choose to drop his military career altogether and instead to dedicate himself to the world of linguistics, the arts, and literature. In 1972, he graduated with flying colors from Kiev National Linguistic University, and shortly thereafter married and moved to Moscow. There, he created paintings for family and close friends. At this time, having spent his formative years in the USSR, Yury had not found the courage to share his passion for Abstract Expressionism and Collage with the public. He kept his artistic creativity mostly to himself and started to pursue careers in related fields. He studied Art History and found work as a licensed multilingual Intourist-tour guide in major art museums of the former USSR. He also worked as a journalist, an interpreter, a German language teacher, and even as a TV script writer.
On the 1st of April 1991, Yury Lobo fled the USSR for political reasons. He established himself first in New York and later in Miami, Florida, writing for several Russian-American newspapers ( Novoje Russkoje Slovo and Russkij akzent), and eventually starting a monthly journal of his own (Russian Yellow Pages). One of his notable interviews was in 1998, with British actor Michael Cain. 2000 he interviewed in Miami Russian politician Irina Hakamada and Russian entertainer Igor Kio. In spring 2004, he interviewed developer Donald J. Trump, who was considering a run for President of the United States on the Democratic ticket.
In 2006, Yury Lobo sold his journal and moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he established his successful ongoing career as a contemporary artist and writer. He is a member of Artists of Palm Beach County - where he has hardly missed one exhibition. In December 2016, Yury Lobo published his first book entitled, In the Wake of Basho, Bestiary in the Rock Garden, a poetry album which was introduced to the public at the 2017 International Book Fair in Miami, Florida.
In 2016, a short biographical documentary film about Yury Lobo entitled, Catching up with Pollock, produced by MoonBreak Productions, was introduced to the public at the annual Palm Beach International Film Festival, where it drew positive reviews.
Freedom of expression in America has motivated and inspired Yury to fulfill the dream of his youth: sharing his creative side with the public. His artistic name, "Lobo," is a shortened form of his Ukrainian last name, "Slobodenyuk," which, translated to English, means "a free man." “Lobo,” which is Spanish for "wolf," is also a symbol of a relentless will for freedom. Jackson Pollock was dubbed by journalists "Jack The Dripper" for his signature method of dripping paint on the canvas. Modern art critics call Yury Lobo “Jack The Whipper” for whipping the canvas with his high, energetic lashes of paint. For Yury Lobo, it is an ongoing race to catch up to Pollock.
2.2 Life stations:
Brandenburg/Havel, Germany (1947-1950)
Skopin, Russia,(1950-1954)
Kharkov, Ukraine,(1954-1959)
Tula, Russia,(1959-1960)
Kiev, Ukraine,(1960-1966)
Gapkin, Russia,(1966-1967)
Kiev, Ukraine,(1967-1972)
Moscow, Russia,(1972-1991)
New-York, USA,(1991-1991)
Miami, USA,(1991-2006)
West Palm Beach, USA,(since 2007)
La Mesa, Colombia, sinse 2025
3.Documentary:
Catching Up with Pollock, (2016)
Produced by MoonBreak Productions
Written by Jeremiah Erikson
Directed by Zachary Barton
Cast:
Yury Lobo- as Himself
Bruce Helander- as Himself
Zachary Barton- Narrator
Jackson Pollock- as Himself (archive footage)
Summary:
"After encountering the artwork of Jackson Pollock, Yury Lobo overcomes sociopolitical oppression in Cold War-era Russia to chase his dream of painting. Upon arriving in America, he finally witnesses 'color' in his life after decades of living in 'black and white' bleakness on the other side of the Iron Curtain."
—Jeremiah Erikson
4.Art by Yury Lobo:
Click below to view the interview of renowned American artist and art critic, Bruce Helander, from the documentary film Catching up with Pollock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=FXjgdMGKCKQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vf1I1vSkHQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1eGpDLI6eU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHQc80wlmQw
5."NotoriUS Jack The Whipper"
Yuri Slobodenyuk, known as "Yury Lobo" , is an internationally acclaimed Ukranian-American contemporary visual artist. Yury Lobo is known for his breadth of abstract work, pop-art, collage, ready-mades, cartoons and portraits. Throughout his artistic career he has produced a significant quantity of works, which are represented in various private collections throughout the world. His art follows the example of Picasso in undermining the concept of the artist's obligation to maintain a single cohesive style. However, Yury considers himself first and foremost an 'abstract expressionist,' and this stems from a pivotal moment from his childhood: in July 1959, Yury and his mother happened upon the First American National Exhibition in Moscow, which featured Jackson Pollock’s masterpiece, “Cathedral”. The young boy who grew up behind the iron curtain was both amazed and shocked by such an abstract painting. Of course, at the only 11 years old in Communist Russia, Yury knew little about Modern Art or Jackson Pollock, but the impact of the piece was imprinted in his subconscious and this moment would significantly change and determine the trajectory of his life forever. Later in his professional life, his interests were centered on artists of the Avant-garde. He claims his favorite artists are (just to name a few): Van Gogh, Chagall, Schiele, Kandinsky, Malevich, Duchamp, Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Brague, Klee, Warhol, Rothko, Richter, and, of course, Pollock. Yury has said, "These artists give me the creative impulse just to open up and paint 'from the hip' trusting only my own inner instincts, pouring my bursting energy in bold colors on the canvas."
6. Artist Statement:
"My fellow countryman Kazimir Malevich once said, "Comrades, arise, free yourselves from the tyranny of objects!” In this sense I, like him, consider myself as a true abstract expressionist and also a revolutionary. My battle cry is: “Stop copying the world, create a new one!” This is not a far cry from what Picasso once proclaimed, "In art, we express what nature is not." And I am, of course, a strong believer in the unlimited positive power of vibrant colors. Whoever is afraid of bright colors is afraid of life, which I am not. In the art of collage, I represent a completely different point of view. My slightly distorted collages are pretty close to reality and full of hidden ironic, sometimes tragic, messages. Being a history buff, I can’t help to be a mocking bird laughing at the human inability to learn from history, having of course observed that such ignorance is doomed to repeat itself. Every collage is some sort of time capsule with a letter to future generations enclosed. I love ready-made art, and I wish I had more of them to offer. A true artist is about inner energy which he or she tunnels to the public through the art: If there is no reaction at the receiving end, then the energy was either poor or lost in artistic translation.
-Yury Lobo, aka “NotoriUS Jack The Whipper”
7.External links:
www.yuryloboarts.com
8. Books in German und English written by Yury Lobo available on Amazon:
1/In the Wake of Basho, 2017 (Poetry)
2/Das gefluegelte Holzpferd: Mit Liliputins auf flinken Hufen durch die Weltgeschichte, 2019 ( Aphorismen )
3/Stammheim-zu-Babel oder Geschichte eines Versagens, 2023 ( Play)
9.Contacts:
yuryslobo@yahoo.com