THE “RUSSIAN ART & PARIS” INTRODUCING:   

Out of the many teachers in    my life, there was one, who did not satisfy the direct meaning   of the word.  Nevertheless   there are two things, possibly the most important for me, that   I heard from him.

First. Your work should look impressive from a distance. Therefore the compositional decision should be clear and precise. The sketch should be made the size of a matchbox.  In this size already,  the main artistic idea of two-dimensional space should be readable. Second. There are no objects in the painting.  The painting has components.  A cup and a cup’s shadow are of equal value in the painting. Today, for me, the cup’s shadow has greater meaning than the cup itself.

Alexander Grishkevich for the readers of the ”Russian Art & Paris”.

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Maksimilian Voloshin has poetic comparisons that “artists are the eyes of mankind” and “the artist, first of all, is the musician”. Every artist, as is known, has his own view on the world, and his own music sounds in his heart. Before Alexander Grishkevich is emerging a completely different picture of the world, different from what we are used to, and there is music, which his heart responds to. The artist is realizing these feelings in the picturesque compositions. He is transforming the real objects into the ideal ones. Before us emerges an image of the Other World, which often differs strikingly from the familiar one. These images are the product of another self-consciousness, other impressions and other perceptions. And consequently the aim of the viewer consists in understanding this “otherness”. For the purpose of coming closer in any measure to comprehending his attitude, it is necessary to understand how he realizes space and time, the real world and the invented world, and at last, his own person. Even the most varied aspects of the artistic picture of the world, are ultimately directly or indirectly interconnected. In the achievement of such synthesis, I believe there is a hidden goal that an artist sets for himself. It is a leitmotif of his figurative-art approach. This approach is not always distinctly realized or clearly formulated by him. Sometimes it remains like an unattainable horizon, which the artist aspires to. However, he always leaves us a reference point, which although not always clear, is helpful in reaching the path of understanding.
•  Alexander Grishkevich is realizing, that he cannot accurately depict even part of a world which has passed. This “depicting” is inevitably fraught with inevitably fraught with distortions and modernization. Therefore in his works, everything is sufficiently concrete and clearly expressed. The artist builds his ideal world on the basis of real visual impressions. This world is sterile and clean; its forms, light and color relations are precise and verified. There is no place for accident and chaos. Everything is subordinated to the author’s logic and harmony. In this ideal world there is no place for the human being, he is not the participant of an event, he is only the observer. In spite of its reality, this world is fantastic by its inherent nature. Within it, by the will of the artist, objects obtain geometrical structure, while remaining natural formations as well.
•  In his compositions, although they are painted in a realistic manner, color exists as though by itself. It is self-sufficient at heart and is perceived as an independent reality even though it is limited to a contour of concrete subjects. There are precise color spot borders of subject forms of the picture with various voice-frequency shades where color gets independent sounding. Color has texture and depth, it mysteriously flickers, strengthening the unreality represented. The surface of the picture has expressive qualities, it is the creation of the artist, and simultaneously with color, is the nature of the picture. In each concrete case, color for A.Grishkevich is not simply paint, it is something living with figurative and poetic language, that is capable to express an essence of the artist. He is improvising, grouping color spots, giving these graphic components their forms, which are dictated to him by his imagination and vision. A.Grishkevich’s color forms are firm and constant. There is no display of external dynamics but you can feel the latent pressure by just looking at them. In this connection we can understand that the drawing is very important for him, where both line and contour express his feelings as much as color. Compositions are often repeated, but other color decision makes them different with regards to the figurative and emotional perception. When we are standing in front of his pictures we are free to invent the images, to change the color decision of a picture, and to transform the elements of a composition. In doing so, it becomes our imagination, which may be rather far removed from the artist’s imagination, but nevertheless called forth by his painting.
•  The canvas is a space where the artist lives, displaying himself and his world regardless of what he paints. Painting is a live dialogue of the artist with a surface of the canvas, carrying him into another world, into another measure. The basis of the picturesque language for A.Grishkevich is the two-dimensional plane awoken by the color and impressions of a diverse, multifaceted life. He is very rational and strict, not allowing the art statement to be spontaneous or emotionally ingenuous. The picture for him is an exit from three-dimensional space into a two-dimensional one. The feeling of a surface and the feeling of color are the mysterious beginnings, which determine the talent of the painter. The artist transfers himself from life’s macrocosm to the microcosm of the picture on a surface of a canvas. A game of shades, lines, planes, forms, volumes, and texture is inherent to the artist’s painting. This is the goal of his art, though ultimately the main aspiration is to make us better than we are.

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Russian spelling: Художник Александр Гришкевич (Минск)

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