The Printmaker and Painter - Essay Example

The Printmaker and Painter was born in Ukraine and moved to London along his family, at the age of fifteen. He travelled extensively especially in Asia and India. Although, he never set out to be an artist but he was always particularly enthralled by painting. As years went by, he got an opportunity to model and direct fashion shoots and events where he realized his long forgotten passion for art. Finally, the artist within him emerged when he discovered printmaking at Cass. Studying printmaking enabled him to communicate his artistic notions.

He is primarily a printmaker, who does not employ printmaking as a secondary mode for translating his ideas onto paper. He is particularly fond of printmaking as it can be extremely spontaneous and complex; in addition, the combinations and methodologies offered in printmaking lead to endless opportunities. His work stands out as it appears as contemporary as graffiti, although the roots of printmaking can be traced back to the Middle Ages. For him, content is the determinant of the materials and printmaking methodologies that he employs, in the endeavor to push the simple art of printmaking to its limits.

He has a deep-seated desire to explore various components of printmaking and draws inspiration from the work of Sean Hillen, Andy Warol, Gerhard Richter, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Rene Magritte. Printmaking is an unpredictable art technique as printmakers themselves are not sure of the image until the paper is revealed.More specifically, he utilizes etching to communicate his thoughts and notions. His prints are intricate and full of technical details, perhaps as a response to the evolving and chaotic world around us.

These prints are a reflection of his sentimental reaction to passing of time and experiences. The artist uses biomorphic and geometric images to explore the limitations imposed by time and space and their impact on humans. These portray notions, emotions and various points in time. He follows no sequential order but instead manipulates materials and etching techniques to reproduce feelings. He is of the opinion that humans should not only view themselves as people but also need to consider themselves at various points of time and events.

‘A story of/for M’ has been inspired from the childhood tales narrated by his Russian grandmother, Marina. He attempts to deconstruct childhood stories, lullabies and events that greatly impact not only our childhood but also our adult life, as stories of the former generation are narrated to the next with minor alterations because of evolution of time. The focal point of these prints is to investigate the essence of memory and how we relocate it. The artist struggles to establish a bond between the viewer and the images by scrutinizing their own experiences, forgotten memories and heritage.

The title is descriptive enough and the images speak for themselves. He uses contrast between dark blue and white, to reproduce abstractions of space that reflect the inner worlds inside us.The artist has kept his prints restricted to blue and white, focusing his attention towards the techniques of printmaking rather than playing with colors. The blue painted objects have been juxtaposed with quirky and unusual sketching. The color blue produces a dreamlike property and implies ideas of serenity, properly fusing the dissimilar and incongruent object within every installation.

Additionally, the peculiar objects in the various installations offer cues and assist in construing the content.