Art Salon came to the Central House of the Artists in Moscow between 16 and 25 of March. I visited it with a friend of mine who kindly helped me to delve into contemporary Russian painting and sculpture. One of the exhibits featured the work of Alexander Voronkov, a renowned Russian painter who in 2010 finished his graphic cycle, The Odyssey. It consists of several graphic paintings that join one another into a magnificent 13,5m-long stripe. A Stroganov Institute of Arts graduate, Voronkov possesses a virtuoso etching skill, which Odyssey amply manifests.
On his official website you can watch the entire cycle at the top of the page. I also took a photo of one of the “chapters”.
Alexander has been fortunate to amass dedicated painters around him, too. His wife, son and daughter-in-law all paint, although in different techniques and on different subjects. At the presentation of his work during this year’s Art Salon I took a photo of his wife’s still life with flowers and the easel she used to create the painting. There is a palpable impression of passion and delicate treatment entwined. Interestingly, you would be pressed hard to say that the flowers in the frame are painted, as opposed to the fresh bouquets – and such is the gift of a painter.
