A charming refinement of the senses

"If the painter wishes to see the beautiful things that inspire him love, he, as the Lord raises them; and if he wishes to see monstrous things which frighten or clownish and funny, or truly pathetic, and over them he is Lord and God..."

Leonardo da Vinci

Painter, member of the Union of artists of Kazakhstan Valery Krestnikov, who was born in the family of the artist, from an early age knows what his mission is. He doesn't remember myself without a pencil or a brush in your hand in childhood, always doodling in my school years, many long and learned the craft in his youth and never saw a different future for themselves than the path of the artist. Getting serious vocational education, Valery about ten years, he has taught at the art school and College, she paints and watercolors, and participates in exhibitions. Entry into United art rating, compiled by art historians and art critics of Moscow, becomes Krestnikov landmark event in the way of disclosure and implementation of a rich creative potential.

the Basic idea in the artistic consciousness Krestnikov – universal feeling of love. The desire to paint pictures of love to people, to nature, to the woman, for life does not leave him even for a second. An endless parade of beautiful, disturbing the soul of the images come to him in dreams and in reality. The embodiment of them on the canvas gives you the ability to quench the constant thirst for creativity. But every time the artist seems to be closest to the task at hand, thousands of situations arise contrary, and the main objective, as the illusory Mirage, is moved farther and farther away.

the Duality of life and human nature actively interfere in the creative world Valeria. Good and evil, beauty and ugliness, love and hate is always there, they cannot be separated and cannot be circumvented. It is impossible not to respond to an endless series of distracting events, disasters in the world that dictate their stories, set different priorities. Occurs creativity socially pointed, sometimes flashy, reflecting the contradictions of human nature and his existence. The art is born "in spite of" is contrary to fundamental for Krestnikov the idea of embracing love. And be it known turncoats or more familiar to the traditional perception of the picture, the duality of the world always finds a place in his works.

In the circle of topics and stylistic preferences, the artist distinguishes two distinctly traced direction. Are landscapes and figurative compositions in which humans exist. Landscapes, executed with meticulous detail and elaboration of plans, different fineness transmission sentiment seems to be as close to reality. However, enchanting sophistication of their color, the halo glow of blooming trees, wrapped in the radiance of unusual celestial events create a sense of fairy-tale, the mystery of the virgin forest, full of unknown spirits and supernatural forces. In these fantasy landscapes-dreams lies the subtle beauty and a sense of quirkiness, surprise phenomena of this world.

With particular force reflection on the duality of the world of sound in figurative artist, strange, sometimes shaky and surreal. The sad image of a meme in the "Sad clown" is contrasted with the malevolent face, the center of the dark, sinister forces. In the "angel" at the feet of soaring luminous essence depicted clumsy female figure, burdened with clumsy flesh and cargo earthly Affairs. Talking about the great mystery of the birth of human life as a phenomenon of the cosmic scale (picture of "balloon Boy"), the parent first, the artist contrasts the wild, destructive force of the earth.

In paintings "Big clown", "Living still life", "Night in a magical forest" people, reduced to microscopic size, enter the world of real objects, where they live in their absurd laws, turning the situation into a fabulous, mysterious metaphor. Pinching the silence, disturbing the unearthly beauty of being permeates the series "moon" of the artist's works, such as "Moonlight bouquet", "Magical flower".

a Direct implementation of the idea of the duality of existence to become the artist of the picture-shifters, starting with the first, written in the period of perestroika "Coronation of the unicorn / the Overthrow of the unicorn" and later: "Cornflower grandfather", "self-Portrait with sausage", "I Baba", "Frog jump". In these works, the same form is used simultaneously displays multiple objects, sounds differently depending on its use in a particular context. Considering the shifter with one hand, you see a pensive boy with a fluffy cat, and turning the lovely forest landscape. Sad elephant is transformed into a young girl with slanting eyes, playing flute. The viewer is included in the proposed game of imagination, immersed in this multivalued reality. Such a two-faced image arises in the mind of the artist in the integrity, to the smallest detail. He can only articulate it on canvas or paper. In these works concluded a range of feelings: from acute irony to a light playful smile, admiring the whimsical variability of the surrounding world. The life and career without this game would have been boring, monotonous and not interesting for the artist.

In figurative compositions, transforming reality into a set of fantastic elements, Krestnikov color makes one of equal existing characters artistic medium. Abandoning the illusion of spatial depth in favor of equal color scenic study plans, using saturated colors, he subdues shapes, objects, the individual parts are simply ornamental rhythm.

Being a follower of the surrealist tradition, Krestnikov creates his own mythical realism, portraying the world as a conglomeration of logismos, oppositions, contrasts. He does not imitate nature, and turns reality into a set of fantastic elements, eloquently and metaphorically revealing the complexity of personal perception. Decorative brushwork helps to fully embody the romantic spirit of the soul original, talented artist.

Elena Buynova, art historian.