_kazake.htm

ARTIST OF THE EXULTANT LIGHT

The formation of artist personality in Russian art of 70s-90s was influenced by the famous painters of 60s propaganding "stern look" (Andronov, Nikonov, Salakhov, Popkov), who had already gained their prestige. Painters of the new generation starting their artistic way in the Academy of Arts at that time seeked not only new, but novel trends in art. Yet their passion for new discoveries didn't except using well-developed traditions of Russian and foreign arts in their works. The young Moscow artist Andrey Kazakov can be named among them.

He graduated from the Surikov art institute with honours. At the same time he began his exhibition art life in Russia and soon earned the sympathies of onlookers in his motherland and abroad. His works got a good press. All this characterised him as a painter with already formed creative vision.

Instantly Kazakov broke his artistic image and rejected the stable stereotypes. He decided, that all his previous life had been only laboratory of mastery, preparatory period for the future freedom of creation. The high professional qualification ("like knowledge of high mathematics") combined with freedom of creative thought and spontaneous reflection of his ideas and feelings begot the phenomenon which art critics call "the style".

Kazakov's aspiration for new art expressiveness, his search for means to reveal in specific language of art his own perception of life was the reason for his interest to Russian icon-painting, for studying in details works of Aristarkh Lentulov and discovery of Maggrit's works in foreign museums.

The great attention to the texture was the way to work out his own theme and new plastics. The painter began with a quivering attitude to a white canvas with the original elements of ground used for the primer. He began the cognition with reflection on common and infinite things such as corpor eal and spiritual life, genesis of a human being, love, original beauty, harmony. He has con structed his own language of symbols during creative work: an egg as a basis of the Universe, a bird as a soul, heaven as infinity. A desire to get out of usual, material thing's cover to the surrounding world, to reveal new un known space, another invisible horizon (in "Re flection" may be more real than in the life), spiritual atmosphere of a temple and everlast ing exultant light inside artist's soul - these features mark the works of the last years -"The Rainbow", 1991, "The Anchorite", 1991. "The Chime", 1990, is one of the main works giving full expression to the new creative method. Contours of the old temple in the centre of the picture multiply like cristal echo of the church bells, waver playing all rainbow colours, spread vibrating from epicentre to can- vas borders and then reverberate back. The painting seizes the spectator, plunging him into the endless melody of light. By monumental image, refined colour, magestic rythm and solemn resound it resembles the ancient Russian fresco. • New trend in his style corresponds to new expressive method: restrained colours show up volumes, underline verges of plane. The cold gamut of pink, blue and violet pastel shades gives the sensation of transparence and lightness. Gentle and complex painting reproduces nuances of colour, and cubistic influence increases the monumental basis of the image. Due to this all objects look as if they were dissolved in transparent medium, full of sunlight.

In the works of these years - "The Anchorite", 1991, and "Storm", 1990,- Kazakov reveals constructive basis of composition and also creates emotionally elated and at the same time full of meditation painting symphonies.

One of the last Kazakov's works, most vividly reflecting his artistic credo -"Commandment", 1991. The artist interprets it by words to God from the Old Testament: "I'm a wanderer in the world, don't conceal your commandments from me..." What are these commandments? It is the love - to one's neighbour, to the Nature, showed in landscapes, and to the light which the painter lavishly presents to us.

C. PATRICK CLEARY, USA

For Andrey Kazakov, that translates into a world loaded with fantasy. Russian fantasy. Russian imagination, and heaven forbid, Russian spirit.

ANNA KOVALYOVA,

art historian, member of Union of Russian Artists, research worker of Museum of Oriental Arts, Moscow, art curator of the Gallery of

Contemporary Art.