Sergey Antonov, artist

“By the Heavenly gates in the sky, You could hear a child’s cry, Mourning over men, Which have no return...”

Why does a crying child makes beauty tragic, but doesn’t destroy it? I don’t know. I think no one can give an answer. And it’s not because there’s no one experienced enough to explain it. There is just no answer to it, and there won’t be an answer while the great art exists. We can describe the final purpose of art. We can name those few blocks marked Good, Evil, Love, Death. Putting these ideas in order, a painter proclaims eternal principles. Lev Tolstoi and Dostoevski took their own paths to achieve the same goals. The difference in means is crucial for dividing painters into groups. It is an axiom.

So, it is not my fault that I was born to follow my own way. Sometimes I feel a bit sad, but when I work, sadness leaves.

As for means of expression, I appreciate color more. I think the future development of painting will be connected with color. It is difficult to explain. To my mind, it is the most significant component of painting. The sources of future colour development can be found in Russian icons and Van Gogh’s colour discoveries.

I’d like to add a little about accuracy. Art can’t exist without emotions. But one should know laws of composition , color and a lot of other things to paint even a mediocre kind of work. They say: “ Art is not jurisprudence. What for do you need laws?” Of course, there is no definite law in art. But a law or its deliberate breaking leads to the mystery of birth. A law with limits, and the mystery of infinite is another paradox of art.

So I think I still have my chance.“ Like a drunk child in the darkness”. 

If you always have this phrase of a Polish poet Julian Tuvim in mind and if it makes you happy, I suppose you have a chance.

Sergey Antonov