Artist

Oil, canvas

2019

25 х 35 см

“The painting “Artist” continues my observations of the role and place of the artist in the modern world. As a former editor of an art magazine and author of articles about art and artists, I constantly see how artists are idealized, demonized, or simply ignored. Who is an artist? – this is a question primarily for myself. What, and in what way, can I tell about this world? What secrets to reveal, and what beauty or horror to visualize? Does anyone really care about what I depict? We live in a world that, due to many reasons and problems, is increasingly filled with water. Unexpected surges of high water are becoming more and more threatening. Is the artist someone who sleeps and swims with the current, or someone who tries to break out of the current? Painters are often called the dogs of St. Luke, who in Christian mythology is considered the first icon painter and patron of the arts. The canvas “The Artist” is a kind of ironic parable about artists who can foresee and show a lot, but for this they should never lose the sense of smell and the instinct of a dog,” – Rostislav Koterlin.