Could cowboying possibly be a universal experience around the world?
The Olaf Wieghorst Museum in El Cajon is featuring a newly opened exhibit of amazing paintings from Siberian artist Valeriy Kagounkin. His artwork suggests that cowboys have lived in other areas of the globe beyond the Old West of the U.S. The museum staged an opening reception for display of Kagounkin’s paintings on the evening of Saturday, July 22.
Could cowboying possibly be a universal experience around the world?
The Olaf Wieghorst Museum in El Cajon is featuring a newly opened exhibit of amazing paintings from Siberian artist Valeriy Kagounkin. His artwork suggests that cowboys have lived in other areas of the globe beyond the Old West of the U.S. The museum staged an opening reception for display of Kagounkin’s paintings on the evening of Saturday, July 22.
Kagounkin’s earlier paintings in the current exhibit date from his origins in Siberia, including street scenes from rural Siberian cities, a Siberian native girl, and a painting depicting his father hunting in frosty outlying areas of the family’s home country.
Kagounkin moved from Siberia to Sacramento in 1998, about 18 years ago. His work studio continues to be located in Sacramento.
Kagounkin’s later artworks include many resembling the subject matter and style of Wieghorst’s Western ranch and cowboy art. Kagounkin’s American work further incorporates depictions of farm life.
Born in 1959, Kagounkin began his art studies when he was nine years old. He explained that schooling in areas associated with Russia channeled children into fields where they were predicted to excel. He spent six years in art school, working in all available artistic media. “I studied with the best of the best teachers,” Kagounkin stated. But he also worked in Siberia on a ranch with his uncle, from the time he was a boy until he graduated from high school. He participated in a cattle drive in Siberia.
Once here in the U.S. western states, he said, “I jumped into the West. This felt like my home.” He continued, “Every painting is a story, every one of my paintings is a story from my heart. For cowboys wherever they come from, there are the same jokes, the same cow manure. My real home was always in the barn.” He described the harsh weather conditions as similar for Siberia and U.S. western regions. “In winter, getting up at 5 a.m. builds you stronger and stronger,” he said.
Kagounkin’s artworks plainly demonstrate his tenderness, understanding and humor about the lives of cowboys, ranchers and farm families. His paintings are by and large oils on canvas, with others in acrylic, some on paper. All are stunning for representations that honor Western life. These artworks are for sale, with various ranging prices. Some tagged at the cost of $900 sold during the opening reception. Larger paintings are mostly priced at $2,500 to $3,000, with more expansive paintings going for $25,000.
Earlene Hollmichel, executive director of the Wieghorst Museum Foundation, discussed how the exhibit came to occur. East County artist Gloria Chadwick became aware of Kagounkin’s work this past spring and assisted in negotiating his agreement. “He was thrilled to meet Olaf’s kids,” Hollmichel said of dealings with Kagounkin in preparing for the display. “And we are thrilled to have his paintings here in El Cajon.”
Fletcher Hills residents Al and Janet Stovall are frequent museum attendees and patrons of the East County Art Association. The couple met while they worked together as exchange teachers, alternating between Janet’s home country of Scotland, Al’s U.S. residency, and other destinations. Al hails from Texas and got to San Diego during World War II Navy boot camp.
“This is fantastic, really,” Al Stovall stated. “Having grown up in farm and ranch country, I am impressed by these paintings.” Janet agreed, “Fantastic, oh, yes. Ranching country we in Scotland only saw in movies.” The Stovalls married in 1961 and were celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary at the Kagounkin opening reception.
The Kagounkin exhibit continues on display and for sale in the front room at the museum’s gallery through August 31. The gallery’s back room features a rotating exhibit of sculpture, paintings, drawings and memorabilia from the life of renowned Western artist Olaf Wieghorst. Intriguing Wieghorst pieces currently on display include a jigsaw puzzle and calendar art dating from 1948. The Olaf Wieghorst Museum and Western Heritage Center is located in El Cajon at 131 Rea Avenue, contacted by phone at (619) 590-3431, or researched online at www.wieghorstmuseum.org. The museum and center celebrate the life and art of Wieghorst, a prominent local artist known during his lifetime and since as the “Dean of Western Painters.”
