1 Biennal Internacional de Pintura al Pastel en Espana

Organizer- ASPAS – Association of pastel painters of Spain.

Place – halls of Oviedo University Campus.

It was not a first time the Russian pastel painters participated in an international pastel exhibition. In 2002 a large group of pastelists from Russia took part in EUROPASTEL exhibition in Italy. That time IRIDA took responsibility to organize a bus travel of artists from Moscow and other Russian cities to Italy.

The aim of these international projects is to revive the European school of dry pastel and to promote this remarkable kind of painting among professional painters as well as amidst cultural society of the world.

As always IRIDA was in the first rank: 11 out of 19 Russian painters were members of IRIDA. Two of them Galina Khmelevskaya and Maria Levko became laureates of professional contest.

In total, artists from 17 countries took part in Biennale. Among them Spain, France and Russia were the most active. We were informed that after France Russia will be the next host country of the 3^rd Biennale.

Now we have right to say that the ancient town of Oviedo is simply made for painters. Being situated apart from traditional tourists routes the town gathered and saved not only rich cultural

collections but also a view of live human life where both the native people and traveling artists feel easy and naturally in narrow historical lanes among the houses with thick age- old walls and the trees.

Historical appearance of the town does not contradict with modern mode of thinking of Spanish artists. A large exhibition ART-Salon unveiled in those days in Oviedo showed all kinds of experiments in modern art .

Being in Oviedo , of course, we could not sit at one place. We went to see the sea and ocean, tiny churches of the 9^th century , the sacred cave Covadonga church built on the eve of the decisive battle for liberation of Spain and consolidation of Christianity in the country.

Our way to Spain and back ran of course through Madrid and we were lucky to look at famous collections of Prado and Karmen Thyssen-Bornemisza where by chance a collection of Russian avant-garde of the 20^th was on display.