News obit: Artist Vadim Bora, who left lasting mark on Asheville

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Still catching up, this time on some very sad news. From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

ASHEVILLE — Painter John Mac Kah lost a dear friend and colleague when Vadim Bora, 56, died Wednesday following complications from a massive stroke in December.

But Bora hasn’t really left his adopted hometown of Asheville, Mac Kah said.

“You can find Vadim around town,” he said.

He’s the crucifix on St. Mary’s Episcopal Church off Charlotte Street. He’s the trio of cats slinking down Wall Street that he created for the Asheville Urban Trail. He’s the bronze Cornelia Vanderbilt playing with her dog, Cedric, at the Biltmore Estate’s Antler Hill Village.

And as a longtime teacher, his legacy is walking around Asheville right now.

“There are a number of students who have their core from him, and they will carry that with them always,” Mac Kah added.

The Blue Ridge Mountains inspired Bora like the North Caucasus ridges of his boyhood memories, his wife Constance Richards said.

Bora came to the United States from Russia for freedom, both personal and artistic. That’s why he explored such a range of work, from fantastical paintings to sculpture based on historical photographs.

“That was the freedom he was talking about,” Richards said. “It was really the personal subject that dictated the style of his work.”

Bora was an artist with many identities: a sculptor, painter, drawer, jewelry maker and poet. But as a person, a singular character emerges: a generous friend, with boundless energy and an enthusiasm for art — and the grand world that inspired him.

 

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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