Exhibition of works by A. Esionov in the halls of the Art Gallery

December 5, 2014 at 17.00 the Russian Academy of Arts in the halls of the Art Gallery at the address: st. Prechistenka, 19 presents a personal exhibition of Andrei Yesionov "From A to Z in the artist’s space."

Andrey Yesionov is a painter and graphic artist, an excellent draftsman, a famous master of portraiture and cityscape. A characteristic feature of his creative activity is the constant search for new means of expression and bold experiments with a pictorial form. The various styles of works presented in the exhibition testify to the extraordinary figurative and plastic thinking of the author, endowed with an original creative style. Recently, the artist prefers working on large-format paintings that affect the most pressing problems of our life, creating a complex space on the canvases using a wide arsenal of coloristic and plastic solutions. The position of a somewhat detached observer allows the artist to express his unbiased attitude to the important problems of Russian history and Russian cultural tradition.

Andrei Kimovich Yesionov was born in 1963 in Tashkent. In 1990 he graduated from the painting department of the Tashkent State Theater and Art Institute named after A.N. Ostrovsky. His first independent work attracted the attention of senior colleagues and critics. However, in the difficult years of perestroika, not wanting to fulfill official orders, the artist was forced to choose a different kind of activity for himself. Almost two decades later, A. Yesionov declared himself as a mature artist on the art scene of the capital’s metropolis, taking part in the International Exhibition “Traditions and Modernity”. Since 1995 A. Esionov is a member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia, his professional activities have been awarded by the Russian Academy of Arts and TSHR, he is a laureate of a number of prestigious art festivals.

Recently, A. Esionov writes philosophical and religious compositions on the themes: “Creation of the World”, “The Last Supper”, “Renaissance”, “Apocalypse” and others, in which he acts as a worthy successor of the traditions of the academic school of painting, while paying tribute 19th century symbolism and postmodernism. The artist composes ironic “theatricalized” compositions, for example, on the theme of the Battle of Borodino, where historical figures play one of the dramatic parties in the history of Russia on a huge chessboard, although the main paths of the country’s further development are already predetermined. In his multi-figure compositions, Esionov formulated his own philosophy of history dedicated to the fatal fate that rules the Russian world. His large-format paintings testify to the inexorable powers of the universe, where everything happens according to the will of the Creator.

The artist does not ignore the acute problems of our time, a testament to this is the historical allegory written “Maidan” written this year, which in its concept is much broader than just bitter regret about the frenzy of the notorious orange revolutions.

Of particular note is the portrait gallery of A. Esionov, which presents the images of outstanding creators of Russian culture and science, famous outstanding personalities - directors and writers, artists and artists, doctors and public figures, personifying the color of the Russian creative intelligentsia. Among them are film directors V. Naumov and E. Ryazanov, astronaut A. Leonov, composer G. Gladkov, artist T. Salakhov, dancer and choreographer V. Vasiliev, fashion designer V. Zaitsev, world chess champion A. Karpov and many others. Recently, the artist completed work on portraits of the head of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Ravil Gainutdin, chief rabbi of Russia Ben Lazar and His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.

The starting point in the work on the portraits was the full-scale sketches, spiritual closeness and deep penetration into the fates of their models. Natural observation and creative imagination allowed the artist to convey both the psychological state of the model and unique personality traits. A. Yesionov depicts his heroes not in a specific environment, but in a metaphorical accompaniment of attributes and symbolic details, associatively referring to the character’s professional activities. The author’s original worldview is manifested in the compositional and coloristic solution of the canvas space, the plasticity of silhouettes, modeling of forms, the psychological expressiveness of the look of the portrait, etc.

The exposition is complemented by masterfully painted full-scale watercolors with views of metropolitan life - poetic images of Moscow streets and squares, old mansions, as well as views of Paris and Madrid, Rome and Jerusalem and other megacities, made in the genre of travel impressions. The artist captured on the sheets the moments of life of different cities and cultures, subtly capturing the play of light and shadow on the walls of eternal Rome and free Paris, giving the opportunity to feel the sea warmth of Cyprus and the hot air of Palestine. In the landscape watercolors of A. Esionov organically included genre scenes that give the works emotional authenticity and emphasize their modern sound.

The exposition included more than 50 works of painting and graphics by the author.

A year ago, an exhibition dedicated to our contemporaries, prominent figures of Russia, and the city landscapes of our capital aroused great spectator interest not only in Moscow but also in Paris, where French critics, visiting the exhibition, did not skimp on enthusiastic reviews.

The exhibition is open for visitors from December 6 to 14, 2014.