02.11.13

ALLA VIKSNE

posted by avartstudio

Alla Viksne was brought up in the tradition of Russian Realism. At the same time, she was inspired by the masters of early, pre-revolution Russian Avant-garde. In the past, these used to be the extreme opposites, but now it is clear that they can be unified through creative synthesis which brings forth pictorial culture, freedom and stylistic flexibility. Vassily Kandinsky once wrote about the art of inner necessity. To me, such necessity is born as the result of exceptionally vivid and keen visual impressions world, whether they are the streets of Moscow where she grew up and lived a significant portion of her life, or the hills of San Francisco near which I live presently, or a bouquet of fresh flowers, a face of a friend, a Gothic facade, a lithe contour of a nude body...

02.11.13

ALLA VIKSNE

posted by avartstudio

Alla Viksne was brought up in the tradition of Russian Realism. At the same time, she was inspired by the masters of early, pre-revolution Russian Avant-garde. In the past, these used to be the extreme opposites, but now it is clear that they can be unified through creative synthesis which brings forth pictorial culture, freedom and stylistic flexibility. Vassily Kandinsky once wrote about the art of inner necessity. To me, such necessity is born as the result of exceptionally vivid and keen visual impressions world, whether they are the streets of Moscow where I grew up and lived a significant portion of my life, or the hills of San Francisco near which I live presently, or a bouquet of fresh flowers, a face of a friend, a Gothic facade, a lithe contour of a nude body...

02.11.13

DMITRY YANUSHKEVICH

posted by avartstudio

Fate appeared at Dima Yanushkevich’s doorstep without knocking. When he was 12, he started to lose his vision. The Moscow doctors could not help. The family moved to California but alas – the American healthcare was unable to deal with the problem. Dmitry Yanushkevich had 8/100 of his vision capacity left in one eye, with the other eye barely able to distinguish light from darkness. And yet he paints and creates paintings – in water colors, acrylic paints and on the computer. A blind artist, something impossible made possible. * Naturally, you cannot but ask – how is this possible? A unique case does not abide by laws. Besides, an art critic does not have the psychological or physiological or any other similar sounding master keys. All we are left with are more or less plausible hypotheses.

02.11.13

PROPHORMA ALEXANDER YANUSHKEVICH

posted by avartstudio

Alexander Yanushkevich is a painter, son of a painter, and that constitutes the beginning of a dynasty. This phenomenon is not unique: examples can be found as far back as Ancient Egypt. Fathers used to hand down to sons their craft and an equipped workshop along with social status, which, though not most prestigious, was reliable enough. Everything changed in newer times: cultural status is now stratospheric, and extremely risky socially. Naturally, one of them is the atmosphere that pervades the house and the studio itself: pencils, chalk, paints, paper, drawings, the exciting smell of oil, conversations, sketchbooks, the miracle of a nascent image — everything beckons the child’s hand, everything tempts the child’s mind, everything is inconspicuously absorbed by nerve cells.