Hope and Fear Painting

Andrej Vystropov (26.12.1961) belongs to a generation of Russian painters whose maturing art is fast becoming widely acclaimed not only in their own birth country but also on the European art scene. Andrej had emerged from the balmy bubble of St. Petersburg's prestigious Academy of Fine Arts into painful reality in the early 1990s; now, a decade of enormous talent and will power later, he is the darling of reputable art dealers, curators, wealthy patrons and art-loving neophytes alike. Andrej's meteor-like ascendance into the rarified world of high art is founded on an exceptionally vivid and moving way of communicating with the audience. At the heart of his success is a compelling, meticulous technique which shows affinity the technique of great renaissance masters whose fabled collection of works he had had the opportunity to study in the State Hermitage of St. Petersburg. Andrej's oils are famous for their realistic rendition of their themes, achieved by faithful attention to even the slightest detail and remarkable sensitivity to the powerful interplay-dreamy at times, and harsh and brutal at others-of light and color. The message is delivered via symbolism; seemingly incongruous objects, symbols of parts, are combined into a meaningful whole that speaks to the viewer from within the artist's experience. Each painted figure, and each object, has its place and its role in the composite. The end result provokes continuous search for the meaning, all the meanings, of the reality represented by the artist. Andrej Vystropov is not an easily understood artist. His realistic paintings challenge the viewer to seek out the core of our existence, with all its beauty and all its problems clothed in irony and skepticism. The deep scrutiny is reinforced by superb painting technique, intriguing composition, and sexy combination of color, all of which form the artist's compelling signature that never fails to engage the viewer. Andrej Vystropov is a Russian to the core, but his art is timeless and boundless, and so personal. It's a mirror in which we can each see ourselves as we are. This intimate connection between artist and viewer is the reason why Andrey's art is in such great demand both at home and abroad.