< Back to results

Art Editorial

goswickbeach.jpg A Russian in our midst
 

Artist Kirill Sokolov (1930-2004) married Avril Pyman, a British woman, in 1963 and they eventually left Russia in 1974, decamping to Berwick where he further developed his work, which won him an international reputation.

Kirill Sokolov and his family made their way to the UK in a Land Rover and upon arriving in Berwick-upon-Tweed he found himself in a strange fortress town “between the A1 and the sea” which initially struck him as beautiful but impossible to live in. He settled in the town however and would remain in the north-east for the rest of his life. ‘A Russian Painter in Northumberland’ explores his life in the region and how his Russian art education influenced the work he produced in the town. It also examines how the events of his later life had a dramatic impact on his artistic practice and how the landscape would take his practice in a new direction.

Kirill Sokolov: A Russian Painter in Northumberland, until 5 May, The Granary Gallery, 2ndFloor, Berwick YHA, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick. Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-4pm. berwickvisualarts.co.uk