George Gordienko (Canadian, b. January 7, 1928 Winnipeg - d. May 13, 2002, Victoria, BC, Canada)

 

George Gordienko was a wrestler, painter, sculptor, printmaker and poet. The son of a Winnipeg blacksmith, Gordienko was twelve years old when he was given a painting kit. The first painting that he sold for two dollars depicted a country farm scene in Riverton, Manitoba. As a young artist Gordienko was also a superb athlete and developed his physical strength alongside his love of painting.

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At the age of eighteen Gordienko’s journey as a professional wrestler began. Banned from the USA as a communist during the McCarthy era, the artist pursued a wrestling career in the UK that lead him to matches in numerous countries around the world. During his time out of the wrestling ring Gordienko pursued studies in visual art and visited galleries. His fame as a champion wrestler gained him access to the greatest artists and museums.

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Picasso once bought Gordienko coffee in Paris, Yul Brynner watched bullfights with him in Spain and Anthony Caro taught him sculpture in London. He was a close friend of Canadian artists Bruno and Molly Lamb Bobak. Gordienko lived in an Italian villa for twenty years with the Greek marchioness Christiana Tassou who appeared in the Federico Fellini film Nights of Cabiria . He was permitted numerous private visits to the art collections of the Vatican and received escorted private showings of public museums in both Iraq and Iran. Gordienko’s sculptures, prints and paintings were exhibited in Italy with modern masters such as: Arman, Calder, Ernst, Fontana, Guttuso, Hartung, Marini, Miro, Moore, and Picasso.

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Gordienko’s early figurative work gave way to explorations in cubism, surrealism, expressionism and abstraction. During the last decade of his life while living in Black Creek on Vancouver Island, Gordienko’s sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints and poetry merged into a unique visual language. His bizarre found object and painted driftwood sculptures provided him with realized subject matter to aid in the development of playful narratives. Strange comic characters in a carnival of colours and poetically written titles adorned his canvases. As displayed in his personal archive of graphite pencil drawings on paper, Gordienko didn’t wrestle with his imagination at the end of his life, he let it flow.

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Education

1958 Camberwell College of Arts, UK

1954-55 St. Martins School of Art, UK - studied sculpture with Anthony Caro

City & Guilds of London School in Kennington

Private Art Studies in Paris, San Francisco, Spain and Winnipeg

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Solo Exhibitions

2023 ReSampling George Gordienko, Outsiders and Others, Vancouver BC

2020 George Gordienko: An Amusing Life, Winchester Galleries, Victoria BC

2014 George Gordienko: The Wry Eye, Winchester Modern, Victoria BC

2010 George Gordienko, Selected Work, Winchester Modern, Victoria BC

2008 George Gordienko, Selected Work, Winchester Galleries, Victoria BC

2006 George Gordienko, A Major Retrospective Exhibition, Winchester Galleries, Victoria BC

2000 George Gordienko, Winchester Galleries, Victoria BC

1986 George Gordienko, Galleria D’Arte Velasquez, Milano, Italy

1982 Gordienko, Pembina Gallery, Winnipeg MB

1978 George Gordienko, Eaton’s Gallery of Fine Art, Winnipeg MB

1978 George Gordienko, The Art Centre, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton NB

1978 George Gordienko, Little Gallery, Ganong Hall, Saint John NB

1977 George Gordienko , Galleria D’Arte SanPaolo, Bologna, Italy

1976 George Gordienko , Teatro Carani, Sassuolo, Italy

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Group Exhibitions

2002 Printmaking: a Fine Art Form, Courtenay and District Museum, Courtenay BC

1998 Two Summer Salons, (Gordienko, ML Bobak, Rosenblatt), The Barn, Victoria BC

1988 Grande Mostra D’arte Contemporanea, Galleria D’Arte MDB, Bra, Italy

1985 Grande Mostra D’arte Figurativa, Grand Hotel Delle Terme, Sciacca, Italy

1984 Group Show, Winchester Galleries, Victoria BC

1980 Venise Ville vue aujoud’ hui par 12 Artisti, Grand Hotel Magnolia, Abano Terme, Italy

1979 Christmas Group Exhibition, Smith Galleries, Winnipeg MB

1976-77 Mostra Di Grandi Maestri contemporanei, Golf Hotel, Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

1977 40 Artisti , Golf Hotel, Golf Hotel, Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

1976 Mostra D’arte Contemporanea, Hotel Quisisano Terme, Abano Terme, Italy

1976 Mostra d’arte 26 artisti, Grande Hotel Terme, Sirmione, Italy

1976 Mostra Di Grandi Maestri, Linta Park Hotel, Asiago, Italy

1976 50 Maestri della pittura contemporanea, Imperial Palace Hotel, Santa M. Ligure, Italy

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Reviews and Publications

2023 Aug. 5, “ReSampling George Gordienko”, Galleries West Magazine, Vancouver

2020 Jan., “George Gordienko: An Amusing Life”, Galleries West Magazine, Vancouver

2008 May/June, pg.30, “George Gordienko”, (image and text), Where Magazine, Victoria

2006 July, pg.24, “Guardian of An Uncle’s Legacy”, by Faye Ferguson, Senior Living, Victoria

2006 March 9, pg.D5, “Artist wrestled with abstract”, Robert Amos, Times Colonist, Victoria

 2006 March 2, pg.29, Gordienko painting image in arts calendar, Monday Magazine, Victoria

2006 March, Vol.18, N6. pg.9, “World Famous Wrestler’s Art George Gordienko

(1928-2002): A Retrospective”, by Brian Grison, Focus Magazine, Victoria

2005 Nov. 30, pg.S3, “Remembering Canada’s great wrestler-artist”, by Tom Hawthorne, The Globe and Mail, B.C.

2002 March, “An International Star on Canvas”, Malcolm MacColl, Campbell River

1998 July pg.12, “No Holds Barred”, Malcolm MacColl, Prime Time Magazine, Nanaimo

1987 December pg.8, Arte pui Arte, (image and text), La Notte Scala, Italy

1984 August 11, pg.C6, “Picasso-influenced artist in rotating spotlight”, Audrey Johnson, Times Colonist, Victoria

1982 April 16, pg.27, “Versatile Artist”, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg

1978 Dec.14, “Wrestler is an artist: Ring master after masterpieces”, Cathy Shaffter, The Tribune, Winnipeg

1977 Bolaffi national catalogue of modern art no.12 , pg.129, Guilio Bolaffi Editore, Torino, Italy

1977 March 11, pg.5, “George Gordienko”, (Sanpaolo exhibition), Cronaca Di Bologna, Italy

1977 Bolaffi international catalogue of modern art no.3 , (back cover) Guilio Bolaffi Editore, Torino, Italy

1976 Bolaffi national catalogue of sculpture no. 1 , pg.98, Guilio Bolaffi Editore, Torino, Italy

1972 Nov. 28, George Gordienko interview, Garry Allison, Lethbridge Herald, Alberta

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Collections

Both private and corporate

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This George Gordienko curriculum vitae was researched, compiled and written by Shawn Shepherd in September 2023.

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