Arte Russa: Interview with Andrey Remnev

Questo articolo è apparso sul Magazine Wall Street International, Ne pubblichiamo un breve estratto. 

The Russian painter Andrey Remnev (Yakhroma, 1962) will present at his first Italian show, with the patronage of the Embassy of Russian Federation in Italy, the brand new series The Face of a Natural Force, a collection of 12 mesmerising and visionary oil paintings which will reflect on the relationship between Soul and Nature.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Andrey Remnev. Undoubtedly inspired by the imagery and geometries of traditional Russian painting, Remnev invites us to master the emblematic visual language of Russian Icons, reinterpreted with a figurative style dense in symbolism in a contemporary key and under the profound influence of his passion for Italian Classical Art.

From the sacred Russian icon to the icons of our time. Your paintings seem to be inspired from Russian sacred art, from which you then delve into forming a precise and recognizable stylistic trait. Your works seem to be a fusion of sacred icons (which idealizes a certain type of themes such as domestic intimacy, wedding and funeral rite, religious environment and ceremonies) and a more profane symbolism. A profanation that, however, is graced by the presence of women. Can we say that this is precisely the cultural and ideological substratum of your art?

My motivation to create a painting is everyday life in the modern world. At the same time the painting techniques are taken from artists of the past. In the fusion of these two principles, my own recognizable style appears. It is the principle of classical tradition. For example, in the Middle Ages the books with samples were widely used, from which the artists took their composition scheme. They could improve and adapt those samples to their specific tasks. This is pretty much how I am working. Everything was invented long ago, you just need to find out how to use it.

Full Interview on WSI Magazine: Between Soul and Nature