Mikhail Kopylkov was born in Leningrad on August 9th, 1946. In 1969, he graduated from the Stieglitz Art and Industry Academy, Decorative and Applied Arts Department, Chair of Ceramics and Glass.
Mikhail considers professor Vladimir Vasilkovsky, a reputed artist and architect, to have been his principle teacher.
From 1969 to 1971, he worked as a teacher of the Basics of Ceramics at the Children’s Art School #1 of the Dzerzhinsky District, Leningrad.
From 1971 to 1990, he worked as a full-time artist at the Applied Arts Plant under the Leningrad Branch of the RSFSR Artistic Foundation. Mikhail elaborated and performed publiс building’ exterior and interior design as well as launched non-commercial projects of his own design.
In 1975, he became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.
In 1984, he headed the All-Union Art Ceramics Team in Jūrmala (Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic). In 1988, he was the chairman of the All-Union Landscape Ceramics Symposium (Tashkent, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic).
From 1988 to 1989, Mr. Kopylkov headed the Chair of Ceramics and Glass of the Stieglitz Art and Industry Academy.
In 1996, he joined the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg Publishing House.
In 1968, he started participating in city, republican, all-union, and international exhibitions and contests (over 150).
From 1977 to 1986, Mikhail coordinated Leningrad exhibitions of ceramics and nine One Composition artistic crew’s exhibitions.
He also participated in international exhibitions in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, South Korea, the UK, and the USA.
His principle occupation is artistic ceramics (sculpture and three-dimensional installations) and monumental art (mosaic, metal, ceramics), as well as design, graphics and book art.
Merits and Awards
1978 – Golden Medal at the International Ceramics Biennale, Vallauris, France;
1978 – Certificate of the Union of Artists of the USSR;
1988 – First Prize of the All-Union Landscape Ceramics Symposium (Tashkent, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic);
2003 – Certificate of the Union of Artists of the USSR;
1998 and 2003 – Prizewinner of the Petersburg exhibitions;
2007 – Golden Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Book Art
2004 – book layout of Ye. Yelagina’s Heliophobia, ORBI PH, Saint Petersburg;
2006 – cover design of G. Kapelyan’s Out of Context, Saint Petersburg;
1998 – 2006 – design of the Decalogue (based on Exodus), an illustrated deluxe edition by Rare Books from Saint Petersburg PH, Saint Petersburg;
2005 – 2006 – work on Vladimir Vasilkovsky’s monograph, Aurora Design PH, Saint Petersburg;
2006 – book layout and compilation of 1930s Images, Novaya Niva PH, Saint Petersburg;
2007 – 2008 – design of the Decalogue (based on Exodus), an illustrated deluxe edition by Rare Books from Saint Petersburg PH, Saint Petersburg;
2008 – cover design of the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, an illustrated deluxe edition by Rare Books from Saint Petersburg PH, Saint Petersburg.
At present, Mikhail Kopylkov lives and works in Saint Petersburg.
Museums and Galleries Holding Mr. Kopylkov’s Works
The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
The All-Russian Decorative, Applied, and Folk Art Museum, Moscow, Russia;
The Kuskovo 17th century estate and the State Ceramics Museum, Moscow, Russia;
The Tsaritsino State Museum and Reserve, Moscow, Russia;
The Sergiev Posad State Museum and Reserve, Moscow Oblast, Russia;
The Kustodiev Astrakhan State Art Gallery, Russia;
The Kaliningrad State Art Gallery, Russia;
The Vrubel Omsk Oblast Museum of Fine Arts;
The Sumy Art Museum, Ukraine;
The International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, Hungary;
The International Museum of Ceramic Design, Perabò Palace, Laveno-Mombello, Italy;
The Northern Arizona University Art Museum, East Flagstaff, USA;
Arts and Crafts PH’s collection, Seoul, South Korea;
Private collections in the UK, Hungary, Italy, Russia, the USA, France, South Korea.