The artist Evgeny Mikhailovich Kravtsov, who uses the technique of monochrome, portraits, still lifes and landscapes look like old photographs. It differs from contemporary avant-garde artists with such a peculiar style and subject matter and makes a special impression on the visitors of exhibitions.
From biography
Evgeny Mikhailovich Kravtsov was born in the Altai Territory in 1965. He received his art education at the Novoaltaisk Art School, where he later taught, and at the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He was the head of the Department of Painting and Drawing of the Moscow Academic Art School.
Monochrome artistic creation
Evgeny Kravtsov paints monochrome landscapes, portraits, still lifes. The artist focuses on the external data of a particular subject. It is an oil painting with a pale brown color. His works are similar to old photographs. The technique of monochrome (for an old photograph) is rarely used by artists. He is in search of his own way of constructing an artistic space. Subtle details that complement the description of the subject plunge the viewer into the world of everyday life.
Such paintings by E. Kravtsov as "Mezen boats", "Palaschel", "Northern Night" are dedicated to his beloved nature of the Russian North. He paints the Lipenka River, an old park, a flooded vegetable garden, a view of the university and other landscapes.
He likes to portray everyday household items: garlic, baskets, a sewing machine, an iron stove, a bouquet of dried flax, apples with a black napkin, spilled milk.
The portraits of E. Kravtsov depict a man digging potatoes, chopping wood, holding a scythe, two in the rain, a woman who made a careless movement.
E. Kravtsov differs from most contemporary avant-garde artists. All his paintings reveal the simplicity of the Russian soul.
Homeless finds refuge
The painting "Tumbleweed" pushes the viewer to the question: why did the artist want to draw this particular plant. Winter is on a gray background, and you can still see it on the white snow. The spherical shape of thin twigs intertwined with each other. The tips of the twigs seem to be alive and still want to live. Why is the grid drawn? To contain it, so that it ceases to be a tumbleweed. Probably, you also want to stop a person so that he can decide on a place of residence, so that the homeless person can find a solid refuge.
Outdated village
The painting "Palaschel" shows a rural landscape. A row of densely built huts. One feels that the tes is old. A narrow grassy road along which the geese are heading. Logs are collapsed not far from the house. The gray, unsightly appearance of an outdated village is depressing, but it is a reality and there is no escape from it.
Well, give the water to drink
As if the artist, creating the painting "The Well", wants to leave as a souvenir a dying out symbol of endangered villages. Winter season. The water in the bucket sparkles and beckons. Although the bucket is unsightly, it still feels clean and fresh. The heart aches from the grayish attributes of the village.
Linen smells like snow
In the painting "Winter" the artist depicted one of the moments of the village lifestyle. A pretty young woman came to collect underwear in winter. A small white fluffy shawl is draped over the head and slightly covers the shoulders. Now she will collect fresh, snow-smelling linen.
Modest bouquet
The modesty of the picture "Lilies of the Valley" is striking. On a dark gray background, a bouquet of slightly whitening lilies of the valley. Although there are no bright colors, the vase is unsightly, but the first spring flowers are still good.
What happened?
Do not pass by the painting "The Man in the Boat" without thinking about the questions: Is the man tired? Weak and resting? Is he hiding? Why is all this happening? The water is gray, cloudy, and a person's soul is probably cloudy. Or maybe, on the contrary, he calmed down and thinks that the current will carry him away from trouble. And most of all I want, without asking questions, to lend him a helping hand.
The artist today
Currently, the artist lives and works in the town of Kosterevo, Vladimir region. Participates in Russian and foreign exhibitions.
For the Voronezh Museum E. Kravtsov painted a copy of the portrait of Baroness Sophia Nikolaevna Staal von Holstein, which is in the Chelyabinsk Museum.
Works of the artist E. Kravtsov, which can be seen at the exhibition “Corrosion. Deformations”in Ryazan, surprise with the originality of the topic, a non-standard approach to the choice of objects that seem to soon disappear in the modern world. And captured in the paintings, they will live for a long time.
Governor Nikolai Lyubimov spoke at the opening of this exhibition.
The career of the famous artist E. Kravtsov was a success. He is a self-sufficient and individual creator. His non-standard paintings express his human and creative essence.
