ARTCLUB News N°8 (october 2002)

From his native Russia, Volodia has retained all the characteristics of contemporary painting and the richness of inspiration; but he has also successfully integrated into the Western world, where he now lives, and blended Into his art some of our present features. His paintings, which are always large-sized, take us into his inner daydreams, And his inner daydreams give us a somewhat surrealistic impression of his personal universe, Whether one looks at his still-lifes or his portraits of women, nothing looks conventional. He breathes into his figures a sense of unreality which make us leave this world for a kind of fairy tale. These women - his wife probably, as they have so many common features -resemble rangy nymphs who are at the same time smooth, mysterious and secretive with their soft iridescent skins and their strange eyes; they seem to be staring at you and looking elsewhere at the same time, perhaps beyond or into the depths of themselves, He makes them take surrealistic poses not unlike those of classical ballet dancers or yogis, but is careful to huddle them in the heart of giant flowers which offer a shelter to their nakedness. In their modesty - although they are naked - they prefer to don a transparent veil or a garment of lush flowers. What is striking in Volodia Popov's paintings is the sense of linearity in the outlines, and the range of colours he uses. Faithful to the richness of the traditional Russian colours which recur in all his compositions, he applies them onto backgrounds enhanced with reliefs which convey onto them a shimmering appearance conjuring up the fabrics and brocades of the past. As for his still-lifes, so much happens in them that they are truly enrapturing. We are miles away from the rows of objects and the sophisticated static compositions which make up the traditional corpus of the genre. With Volodia - for that is how he signs his paintings - a still-life is like a gathering of friends around a table, holding glasses and drinking toasts to everything under the sun. His unbridled imagination combined with the definite influence of Russian folk-tales transform each piece into a distinctive character taking part in this friendly gathering. The flasks, rangy like his women, slender-necked and graced with reed-like undulating figures, look as though they are engaged in an endless chat. Teapots are undoubtedly inhabited with a genie which makes them dance on the table. All the items of the backdrop of the table are animated, distorted and seen as in a hallucination: they undulate, strut about and never cease to put on airs and graces with one another. The table itself wanders away from trivial reality, with its vertical top richly clad with heavy gold-embroidered material, unless it is a flying carpet ready to take its passengers into a new world -a fantasy world where objects talk and have a life or their own. Volodia Popov has succeeded into translating on the canvas what others had represented in the magical literature of folk-tales. This artist takes us on a journey into a poetical world which is richly coloured, and it is nod indeed a coincidence if collectors all over the world are so fond of his pictures.

Whether good or bad for an artist, it is impossible to catch Volodia Popov in a state of reflection. His lifestyle is one of constant movement. The artist was educated at both the Abramtsev Art Industrial Academy and at the Mukhina Leningrad Art Industrial Academy. These institutes, representing two very different approaches, provided the talented and able student with the ability to see an object from both the inside and outside, and in microcosm and macrocosm. These approaches further gave him the skill to see and to respond to the origin as well as to the many possibilities for the development of his graceful forms. Volodia Popov can not be considered European in his style: his creative style was formed by the Russian School of art based upon linear and rhythmic expressionism, silhouette, and local spots of color. Aside from his formal artistic education, Volodia Popov's work has undoubtedly been influenced by his interest in modern art and his direct acquaitance with the world art process, both of which have greatly contributed to his erudition. In 1990 only two years after completing his studies Popov took part in an international sculpture festival in Munster in Germany, where the work was awarded first prize. With equal enthusiasm he took part in the Four Expo festival in Bressuire in France in 1994 and 1995 and a festival in Moscow in Russia in 1991 at which his work was awarded second prize. This success and this timely acquaintance with foreign artists gave Popov a powerful stimulus for his own creative development. As it is said, "success breeds success" and from this time on, participation in international art exhibits has become an important part of his biography. Popov has also actively prepared many personal exhibits. This extremely mobile lifestyle and his life in Paris has undoubtedly influenced the artist's work and given him definite vectors from which his own style has been formed. Besides he can always disciver new subjects.

The Galerie Bouvet-Ladubay's catalog (2000)

Whether good or bad for an artist, it is impossible to catch V. Popov in a state of reflection. His lifestyle is one of constant movement whether he is embarking upon, preparing for, or telling about one of his journeys. Although one rarely encounters geographical subjects in his work, there is system of coordinates through which the artist is able to record his stay in one or another point on the grid. Usually, however, it is impossible to pinpoint the artist in any one spot as he is often located in several parallel and perpendicular spaces at the same time: he can speak and remain silent in different languages. Before recording the artist's creative accomplishments, it should be pointed out that they are by no means self-generated, but rather were the result of the stages of his creative development. The artist was educated at both the Abamtsev Art Industrial Academy and at the Mukhina Leningrad Art Industrial Academy (LVKhU). These institutes, representing two very different approaches, provided the talented and able student with the ability to see an object from both the inside and outside, and in microcosm and macrocosm. These approaches further gave him the skill to see and to respond to the origin as well as to the many possibilities for the development of his graceful forms. V. Popov can not be considered European in his style: his creative style was formed by the Russian School of art based upon linear and rhythmic expressionism, silhouette, and local spots of color. Aside from his formal artistic education, V. Popov's work has undoubtedly been influenced by his interest in modern art and his direct acquaintance with the world art process, both of which have greatly contributed to his erudition. In 1990, only two years after completing his studies at LVKhU, Popov and fellow-artist V. Kostarnov took part in an international sculpture festival in Munster where their work was awarded first prize. Both this success and this timely acquaintance with foreign artists gave Popov a powerful stimulus for his own creative development. As it is said, "success breeds success" and from that time on, participation in international art exhibits has become an important part of V. Popov's biography. With equal enthusiasm he began the construction of "Sand Castles" (a temporary pavilion for the Foire Expo festival in Bressuire in 1994 and 1995) and "Snow Castles" (a festival of snow sculpture held in Moscow in 1991 at which his work was awarded second prize). Popov has also actively prepared many personal exhibits. This extremely mobile lifestyle has undoubtedly influenced the artist's work and given him definite vectors from which his own "rose of the wind" has been formed.

The Journey into Memory or "Time, Go Back!"

In Popov's work, travel back into history has no defined length of time, concrete boundaries, and no limit of circumstances. For a period of more than ten years Popov's work has consistently been related to Russia's artistic past as a result of both the artist's education and his emotional attachment to Russian folklore, fairy tales, lubok (Russian folk pictures), and puppetry. Mighty bearded men, Petrushkas, beautiful women, journeys on bulls and roosters, riding horseback with Ivan-Tsarevich - all are vividly and sharply depicted like a patchwork quilt that can be examined both in pieces and as a whole. Stern and menacing pagan characters such as Alkonost and Sirin, the bird of paradise, deceptively conceal their frightening flesh with exquisite plumage. Even his recent, more intricate works ("The Stock Seller", "Diligent Housekeeping", "Presentation") are filled with a great number of associations and details which speak and recreate an image of the past more on the level of deja vu than a mere story. This land of Russian art's historical past is boundless and vast, and is densely populated and cultivated by many generations. The difference between fine arts and geography is that in fine arts, any one object or occurrence can be opened not once, but an infinite number of times. Therefore, it is always possible to discover something new and it will invariably be as interesting as the artist himself is interesting.

The Spiral Journey or Fragments of Disappearing Harmony

The artist legitimately considers the intricate shells of warm seas subjects for his work. The enigma of the shell is disturbing: how is it possible that a primitive mollusk can have so perfect a form? Its rigid outer shell does not allow growth, yet within the matrices of its spirals, it captures the history of a civilization that never existed. The delicate mother-of-pearl of the inner surface is carefully hidden and studded with spikes which, like armor, protect its secret. The artist contrasts these objects with the stable but lifeless form of a triangle ("Objects 4,5,2") and with the form of an egg - the symbol of life. He attempts to pierce them with the energy of light and to force to live in an unfamiliar environment ("The Artist's Studio"). Yet everywhere they remain a closed subject for him, teasing him with their inaccessibility. For one of the shells, however, the artist has found a worthy context ("Re Island"), but that is an entirely different journey.

The Journey into Still Life or the Conversationalists

V. Popov is without a doubt a pagan; even when thinking about Rublyov his thoughts are occupied by Maleevich ("Rublyov's Conversation with Maleevich"). The still life, however, brightening the abyss of the black square, ironically contrasts the dismal forecast of the early 20th century that art is dead. Yet nothing can be dead as long as there is an artists. It is tentatively possible to group Popov's still life's into one cycle - they are born of language and according to task. All of the subjects (which, as a rule, are attributes of a meal) are united by a kind of quiet conversation with one another. Thin-stemmed wine glasses and narrow-throated bottles live their own lives and breathe their own particular air. Either they are drawn towards one another, or they show their independence, and through this tension their outlines almost melt, losing their lifeless rigidity and cold symmetry. The spark of the artist's vision runs through these objects igniting their inner energy and impelling them toward love, friendly conversation, and gaiety.

The Eternally Desired Journey or The Path to Woman

The shell, which at one time brought Venus to the shores of Earth, can end up not only in the sea of Re Island but also in the Cornflower Sea. The shell can also allow blue flowers to grow through itself if the beautiful young creature has thoughtlessly selected it ("Cornflower Sea"). The eternally desired journey to woman begins with inevitable defeat. This youthful creation, still knowing nothing of itself, disarms the artist and predicts to him the impossibility of reaching the end of this journey. With rare exception, the artist sees women as pagans like himself. They can be of the same nature as clouds with each object dissolving into the other ("Reflection"). Into the wind they blend their hair full of flowers and leaves marking the coming of spring ("Flora"). Their most loyal friends are dogs, cats and birds, and they can abruptly shroud themselves in covers concealing their borders. Women frolic and dream, they dress and comb their hair. They can be burdened by flesh like "Paleolithic Venuses" or they can be incorporeal like elves, but they are always both full of desire and themselves desired. In the artist's opinion, love between man and woman is the balance of two energies, or the correctly resolved equalization of rhythm ("Balance", "Desire").

The Journey to Self or The Living Environment

It is generally known, and almost trite to point out, that each of an artist's works is in some way a self-portrait. By embarking on some journey and by surrounding himself with themes and subjects, the artist gradually brings his "rose of the wind" to life: everything is equal as each petal is connected to the center, to the centripetal point to which all of life's impressions are drawn. The artist finds himself simultaneously at rest and in motion. His life is not only a horizontal journey, but also a state of concentration as he contemplates a certain phenomenon, the occurrence of simple actions, or his knowledge of the relationship between man and woman to universal cataclysm. Each moment of his life is material for his art. In his natural surroundings, myths and cosmic energies are layered and childhood amusements take on significant meaning. His Galataea comes to life with the movement of a brush, with a drop of rain, by the clinking of glasses, from a gentle touch. At first glance, his living environment is as diverse as the pieces of a mosaic; yet, upon closer inspection, it is unified and, like the same mosaic, it is both integrated and monolithic.

Even the longest journey has both a starting point and a point of conclusion. Only the journey to Self is measured by the span of one's life. The travel log of Vladimir Popov is still being written and has barely reached its middle...