New Masters of Poster Design

194 ★ NEW MASTERS OF POSTER DESIGN

Dominating national competitions and representing his country

proudly in numerous international collections, he has proven

an able ambassador for the renaissance taking place at home.

It has been important for the poster to be an integral part of this

change, as the medium has a rich history in Russia. Also,

for Surkov, “the entire process of creating a poster is magic.”

Although he does not see the same energy in Europe, Surkov

is excited by the “poster explosion taking place in Asia and the

Middle East.” At home, he sees the rebound occurring slowly.

“I think the number of Russian poster designers is not the same

as it used to be; it has decreased. If in the 1990s Russia was

represented by hundreds of posters in international exhibitions,

now it is represented by no more than ten or twenty,” he

laments. This does not diminish his enthusiasm. The worldwide

poster community is expanding, and designers are able to touch

one another’s work more easily, thanks to the Internet. Surkov

considers himself a big part of the international poster design

movement. “This feeling of participation gives me support

and inspiration in my work.”

NO BOUNDARIES

Surkov “adores the posters made in the 1980s and 1990s.”

He says his favorite designers make a very long list. “They had

a great influence on me as a student, and I still feel this influence

on my work,” he says. “The biggest inspiration is always the idea

for a poster project. If the customer is able to convey the purpose

of the project clearly, images start appearing in my head, and at

this point anything, especially music, comes into play,” as a work-

ing inspiration. Surkhov has also famously cited a 1989 visit

to Moscow by Massimo Vignelli that enlightened him about

the international nature of the design community. All designers

share the bond of communicating an idea by creating something

even larger than they might have dreamed possible.

It is the idea at which Surkov excels. Even for an intensely

stylized poster such as the Golden Bee Biennale solution,

Surkov keeps the concept at heart. The poster feels like a bee.

Such is the case with all his work. His color choices are inherent

to the solution. His designs are often plainly influenced by both

nature and technology.

INFLUENCE THE CROWD

Surkov has done the majority of his poster work on social

issues. These posters are meant to be “displayed in public

places and to influence the crowd.” With that in mind, he holds

his work to high standards. “If the poster has vivid artistic form

and if the artist is honest—if the artist makes his work better than

anything he has previously designed, and, of course, if the visual

decision is the best representation of the main idea—the poster

will be successful.” He also has a passion for printing, which is

“an integral part of my work,“ he explains. “I am always involved

with it. I love to mix the inks and have the incredible feeling

of controlling the process, not to mention the opportunity to touch

that first copy right off the press.”

That passion for the poster from beginning to end has served

Surkov well. He and his likeminded comrades will soon fill Russia

with astonishingly challenging design. For the time being, it brings

pleasure to our eyes and minds to gauge this progress through

the man his countrymen call Suric.

“The entire process of creating a poster is magic.”

★

YURI SURKOV

★

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

THEY CALL ME SURIC

The man often known as Suric, Yuri Surkov is one of his country’s leading design lights

at good time for Russian design. After years of designers working as craftsmen in Russia,

this role has waned under the enormous changes the country has undergone. Now,

radical creativity is taking hold in all corners of Russia, and designers, especially Surkov,

are at the forefront.

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