Boris Perfecký (1977 – 7.8.2004), born on 12 October 1977 in Bratislava, is a descendant of an Ukrainian immigrant Prof Jevgenij Julianovic Perfeckij, who worked on the Philosophical Faculty of the Comenium University in the years 1921-1947. His father Julian Perfeckij acted as an Orthodox pope on Kobylino Nabuje and Nosovo, Ukraine where his son Jevgenij Julianovic was born on 11th april 1888 (he died in Bardeyov in 1947)
The main concern of Jevgenij Perfeckij as a schoolman and a scientist was the history of Russian and Sub-Carpathian Ukraine. Together with his wife Anna, born Sadlon, has got 5 children- Eugenia, Luba, Natalia, Klaudia and the son Boris. The last with his wife Angela gave birth to one son Milan and one daughter Olga. It was his tragic death (trafic accident) at the age of 26, that didn´t allow him to meet his grandson Boris. Milan Perfecký (his mother has Slovakized her name) has got with his former wife two children – son Boris and a daughter Sona. They all live in Bratislava. Boris´s mother parents lived and died in Spisska Nova Ves.
Boris Perfecky studied at the Faculty of the Arts and Sculpture supervised by Prof Rudolf Sikora and later painting under a charge of Prof Jan Berger. Indeed, he tragically died one month before his graduation. It was on August 8th 2004 when he fell down from the rocky cliff of the Paystun castle near Bratislava. Besides his love to visual art, it was nature that played a very important role in his life and with which he kept a close contact.
Rather large amount of paintings, watercolours and graphics is an evidence of his responsible attitude to work. He and his schoolmates showed their own paintings in the House of Culture, Ruzinov, Bratislava in 2002. The name of the exhibition was “To ourselves”. The first independent exhibition was arranged after his death by Prof Rudolf Sikora with the help of Marek Vrzgula and some of his schoolmates in the Palffy Palace on the Zamocka street, Bratislava. The best evaluation of Boris´ artistic work, his attitude to the art gave Prof Jan Berger at the exhibition opening on 7 Apr. 2005 :
“I was always looking forward to his unimposing expression during our terminal investigations. In the first fruits of this young painter with the soul of Fra Angelico, I was captured by something that we meet very rarely in the works of art novices – the harmony between the painter´s expression and relation to the emotionally relished reality. “ Common” motifs have never been only a studio pageantry but on the contrary they appeared preferentially , they were discovered by the painter through his individual sensitivity and were definitely deeply determined.
Non-mediate view of the world, belief in his own feelings, concentration of his eye, immediate expression and especially non-pretended taste for painting this all represents main features of Boris´s work. Thus, a tight affection, internal truth of the colour and a simple touch has transformed to his paintings. Boris as a shy artist didn´t become tentative. His artistic possession comprised not only own reception of the world and its reflection but also juvenile desires and world of dreams. On his way to an imaginary mission as was the end of his artistic studies, after the time of deliberation, ideas, attempts and open discussions the theme appeared. He made his mind for the series of portraits. Portrait as an artistic style, long postponed to the stock of history appears again, being evoked by sophisticated technologies, attracted by various medias and commentaries. Portrait remained for Boris in its painter´s dimension, without relief and simplification. He used to overcome the trap of this tough genre with the sportsman endurance. In the painter´s studio models were diversifying, forms of canvas changing, glances becaming more nervous, colours were blandishing, some other time they revenged for their beauty to the young artist. In one moment swinging stopped, changed to a concentrating perception, to tension. Then, a crowd of faces with a straight looks surprised us, liberated from the blandishing. In a calm variety of colours the expression became sharper. We don´t know if this is the power of the gesture of the manuscript or other way that makes us to forget possibilities or traditions. Only the conversation in silence stays here, a state of surrendering maturity. In this moment, I trusted in the rhythm of the brush and spirit of the young artist.
I didn´t guess that Boris besides his fight with the picture struggled with the reef. And then came something we cannot accept that stays inside us like the emptiness without explanation.”
Boris Perfecky became a honorary member of the Slovak Art Chamber in memoriam on 8th January 2006. www.artslovakia.sk
M.P.
