KARTASHOV ANDREY

Member of the American Association of Portrait Artists (2007). Member of the Union of Artists of Russia (2016).

He was born in 1974 in Uzhhorod, but soon his family moved to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia). From 1982 to 1986, he studied at the 11th Children's Art School of Leningrad. From 1990 to 1995, he studied at Uzhhorod College of Applied Arts (his teachers were Nadiia and Ivan Didyk, Vasyl Roman). In 1995, he returned to St. Petersburg. From 1998 to 2006, he studied at the Institute named after I. Riepin with such professors as Y. Kaliuta, V. Pimenov and N. Blokhin. After completing his studying at the invitation of Pivot Point (Chengdu, Sichuan), he went to China for creative and teaching activities, started his co-operation with the American company WAM (Wenstein Art Management) and the galleries Willow (the USA), Diamante Gallery (the USA), Kristi Ana Fine Art (the USA), Green House Gallery of Fine Art (the USA). In 2012, he returned to Ukraine. Now he lives and works in Uzhhorod. He is a lecturer of the Transcarpathian Academy of Arts.

Having passed an unusual creative path from abstract, decorative painting, today Andrey is a convinced realist, supporter of “Riepin” school. "In his youth... we considered ourselves the progressive bearers of new ideas, such as Dali and Picasso... But later I realized that art had no better language than realism. The scope of realism is wider than it seems for someone. After all, symbolism, romanticism and mysticism are the branches of the realism tree", says the artist. In general, according to him, after a bright, joyful atmosphere of the applied college in Uzhhorod, he faced a rather hard test entering the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. Riepin in St. Petersburg. However, the experience and knowledge gained in the city on the River Neva were worth it. It was here that the style of realism crystallized, in the modern interpretation of which the artist works until today. "The result of the St. Petersburg school’s influence was the transition from the very careful, attentive, almost Dutch manner to the free, wide "fashion" painting", A. Kartashov says.

Among the artist's creative works, there are portraits, still lifes, landscapes and genre compositions. It seems, it is equally easy for him to work out all the ideas and the artist’s style contributes to it – confident strokes, which at first glance seem to be plotted a bit messy, actually form a coherent, well-structured picture. Thematically, the artist's creativity can be divided into several stages. One of them is characterized by a deep understanding of the female theme. The beauty, perfection, sexuality, strength of spirit, elegance and tenderness – all these features of the beautiful half of mankind are successfully transmitted by the artist in their paintings ("Sleep of Peacock" and "Light of Hope" (2007); "Dream In Venice Night" (2008).

Then the artist turned to heroic characters in a timeless context: on the artist’s canvases one can see ancient Roman gladiators, characters of ancient mythology and modern heroes ("The Fall of Empire" (2014), "The Social Network" (2015), "Era of Mercy", "Small Model of The Society" (2016), "Sisyphus" (2017), "Hollywood Still Life" (2000 - 2017). Unusual, but illustrative in Andrey’s creativity is the figure of the famous Hollywood hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I believe that he is the personification of the last titan of the era of true heroes, who cast a farewell look to the time foreseen by Andy Warhol, where everyone will have his 15 minutes of glory, but no more," the author comments. A deep in this sense is the painting "Carrying The Baobab Cross". "In this work – the idea of a person's life path in the context of the biblical maxim "as everyone will bear his cross" reformatted through the prism of the media culture, – in such a way the author describes the picture. Here we can see postmodern treatment in an ironic way to eternal themes and timeless subjects. Again, the protagonist is the screen symbol of the era. It is based on the sign frame with a log on his shoulder, replaced with the cross with the symbols of three stages of hero’s life – sport, cinema and political career. The painting is a reflection of the sacred characters of the era, which are idols and, at the same time, semantic sanctuaries, similar to the huts on the barons of baobab, which are still built by primitive tribes. Who are they – satiated idols or bodhisattvas, who voluntarily entered into a new circle of samsara from mercy? What is their life path – a glamor monument of the possible, the anthem of the realized right to harassment or a heavy cross?  Who is a Great Man carrying this cross and a Little Man hidden in his shadow?"

During a certain time, A. Kartashov lived, he said: "... I am grateful to God that he allowed me to absorb the sincerity and rich colours of the Transcarpathian school of painting, the profound professionalism of the St. Petersburg academic school, but it was China where I opened my potential." The artist's personal exhibitions in Shanghai brought him, as he himself recalls "... almost everything the artist expects – communication with the viewer, opportunity to see the created compositions from the other side, glory, attention of the media, new friends, and new horizons." During this period, the artist worked a lot: In 2009, he created a series of monumental paintings on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, an earthquake in Sichuan, and many other works ("Olympic Hairstyle" (2009), "Equilibrium" (2010), "In The Service of The Beautiful" (2009). The triumphant chord of the Chinese period was a series of solo exhibitions in Shanghai coincided with the World Shanghai Expo 2010, during which each country represented its culture, achievements in science, art.

The aesthetics of cyberpunk is seen in such works as "The Last Call of Darwin" and "The Six Butterflies of The Apocalypse", devoted to the topic of capturing the artificial intelligence of mankind.

The desire to get back to sources and the need to renew the creative energy brought the artist back to the Silver Land: in 2012 Andrey settled in Uzhhorod. "Now this is a quiet, meditative work – thoughtful, without loud events or exhibitions, but with a high coefficient of truth and deep spiritual assessment of everything happening," the artist says.

He is the author of numerous personal exhibitions, in particular at the Sichuan Museum of Arts and Gallery Pivot Point (2009), in the centre Chan Ning, in the Liu Hyus Art Museum, at the Vienna Art Museum (all three – Shanghai, China, 2010), in the Transcarpathian Museum of Art named after Y. Bokshai (2017). The winner of the prize "For the best drawing of the year", "The best thematic picture" and others. Multiple laureate of international art contests of the American Association of Portrait Artists. Participant in personal and collective exhibitions, art festivals in the Netherlands, Poland, and Hungary. He is included in the rating of the 50 best overseas artists of China. The leader of sales at such auctions as Artxun (Shanghai, China), John Nicholson Fine art & values (London, Great Britain).

The works of the artist are presented in museums, galleries and private collections of Ukraine, the USA, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Great Britain, China, Poland, Hungary, and others.