Arundel Contemporary

”My artwork, oil painting, digital or other media, is a combination of figurative, often distorted objects with pure abstract forms and textural components. They coexist beyond any physical or logical limits, revealing the invisible tension and eternal struggle between or inside all forms of matter and giving rise to doubt in the reality of the visible. Chaos and deformation on the one hand and sharp lines and precisely rendered details on the other remain my basic aesthetic concepts, no matter I get representative or abstract results.

There were several steps or periods in my artistic career. They depended on my skills and vision and the possibilities that existed. I began to work in three-dimensional collages using found objects, and this allowed me to take something and change its qualities as I wanted. This experience, in turn, led me to an understanding of colour, texture and the substance of painting. After that, I did works on paper and produced a big number of them, experimenting with collage, water-based colours and any materials I could find. At the same time I started using natural rust in my work, droping some iron into water for few days or weeks to develop this pigment. I still use this method. As so often happens, the decision to stretch canvas and start painting in oils was a spontaneous one. Now I prefer this medium. My palette became more varied, it’s great to discover new colours. It was interesting to try myself in digital art and photography too. I have no idea where I get ideas for my paintings. Maybe, it is the ability to enter a state of mind where images and concepts appear and transform themselves. I won’t reject a sudden idea, even if it is markedly different from my usual style, after all, who knows where this door may lead? Many of my best works are the direct result of mistakes, and each mistake makes a painting unique and closer to real life. Influence? From Prehistoric cave art to Russian Avantgarde and Surrealism.”

Alex Berdysheff