The Creative Face in the Field of Monumental Painting of Yevgeny Stepanovich Gerdyuk

The Independence of Artistic Thinking of Yevgeny Stepanovich Herdyuk.

Yevgeny Stepanovich Herdyuk has his own creative identity in the field of monumental painting. He arrived in Kyrgyzstan in the
1960s, taught at the Frunze Art College for more than ten years, worked for several years as deputy director, and then as director, nurturing dozens of artists who now contribute to the development of the art of environmental design.
He most often creates multi-figure compositions in various materials (smalt, ceramics, pebbles), developing modern themes within them. They are characterized by a dense, detailed composition, realistic drawing, harmony of color, and expressiveness of fine laying.

Herdyuk's mosaics adorn the building of the Gas Propaganda House in Frunze. Compositional integrity and colorful decorativeness are created with consideration of the character and functional purpose of the architecture. His creative vision and painterly style are most vividly revealed in the mosaics constructed in the interiors of pioneer camps on Issyk-Kul. In the dining room of the "Barchin" camp (Kursk village), a three-part ceramic mosaic ("Issyk-Kul," "Pioneer Campfire," "Water Games," 1978) fills three walls. These are intricately developed narrative compositions. The flattened space depicts the Issyk-Kul landscape, into which narrative groups are integrated with figures of pioneers. The combination of blue, green, and ochre tones, along with the lyrical plasticity of forms, conveys the atmosphere of the Pre-Issyk-Kul region, the sunlight, the blueness of the water, and the freshness of the greenery. In this bountiful world of nature, the children's summer vacation flows richly. By depicting a broad panorama of pioneer life, the artist successfully chooses thematic aspects, key compositional moments, and color solutions.

A bright symbolic-decorative image is carried by the mosaic created by the artist in the exterior of the camp, depicting Y. Gagarin in a conventionally cosmic environment. Its content, compositional and color expressiveness make it one of the best works in the artist's oeuvre.

The ceramic mosaics "The World of Beauty" and "Strong, Brave, Agile" in the "Almazny" pioneer camp in Chok-Tal village, which carry cognitive and aesthetic significance, develop the idea of engaging youth in art and sports.

In these works, Herdyuk demonstrated the independence of artistic thinking, professional culture, creative imagination, and a free command of the specifics of mosaic technique. The panels he created are a significant contribution to the aesthetic education of the younger generation. Unfortunately, despite its significant thematic content and artistic merits, Herdyuk's monumental painting in the pioneer camps of Pre-Issyk-Kul does not always harmoniously combine with the architecture of the interiors, which, when viewed more broadly, leads to a common problem in the monumental art of the republic regarding the synthesis of its architectural forms, and the necessity to define its location and character from the design stage of the objects.

One of the best works of this mosaic master is the sunny-decorative composition in smalt on the building of the energy workers' health resort in the Alamedin Gorge (Teplie Klyuchi) from 1985. Exceptionally beautifully resolved in color, finely composed, and harmonizing with the expressive decorative metalwork of the downspouts, it easily fits into the surrounding landscape and possesses a full-blooded power of aesthetic impact.