100th anniversary of Garri Rokchinsky (1923-1993), people’s artist of the RSFSR, was celebrated in the Republic of Kalmykia and regions of southern Russia

The article contains basic information about events related to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Garri Rokchinsky, Honored Artist of the Kalmyk ASSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Kalmyk ASSR named after O.I. Gorodovikov, People’s Artist of the RSFSR. The master, who created works of painting, graphics, and small sculpture, is considered the founder of the fine arts of Kalmykia. The works he created have become classics, recognizable and quoted in the Mongolian world, and are included in the golden fund of multinational art in Russia. The article describes events held at the beginning of the year 2023 in Elista and related to the popularization of Rokchinsky’s works and the study of his heritage. Considerable attention is paid to the traveling exhibition The Tale of the Kalmyk Land, which was shown in the regional centers of the South of Russia (Volgograd, Astrakhan, Rostov-on-Don). The article cites excerpts from the speeches of art critics made at the opening of the exhibitions and notes the significance of the opening of a museum dedicated to Rokchinsky’s works in his homeland, village Altsynkhut, Ketchenerovsky District, Republic of Kalmykia. The article also lists the problems of the key speeches and reports of the participants in the interregional conference Painting as a Sign of Culture, held in Elista in October 2023. The topics of the conference covered Rokchinsky’s works, the figurative and stylistic search for a pictorial language, the formation of a national art school in Kalmykia, studies of the role of art in higher and secondary education. Researchers also shared practical research findings and theoretical developments in the field of communication. The conference was preceded by the opening of an anniversary exhibition-retrospection of the artist’s works. The contents of the catalog of the artist’s works from the collection of the National Museum of Kalmykia and the monograph album Painting in the Time and Space of Culture, released for the artist’s anniversary, are characterized. The monograph album, intended for the widest range of readers, has become the most complete publication dedicated to the works of Garri Rokchinsky, and the master’s paintings in the anniversary days formed a multidimensional space that organically united art and culture, education and science