Then Ivan worked abroad and lived in Paris for seven years. His canvases have become a permanent decoration of private collections in Italy, France, and Holland. In France, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Holland he is considered one of the best Russian artists.
The starting price of paintings by Ivan Slavinsky is 20 thousand dollars. In his works, many notice at the same time something from Vrubel, Degas and Petrov-Vodkin. Many people are willing to pay a lot of money for such a powerful “mixture”. Some critics speculate about whether it is proper to call an artist a genius during his lifetime.
Ivan himself talks about his artistic history... He started not in the Association of Free Artists, but on the so-called panel. It happened at Katka's kindergarten. The artists themselves sold their works. From early morning they came as if they were going fishing, to take a “fishy” place and hang pictures. And soon it became clear that everyone would be kicked out if you did not become a member of the Association of Free Artists. No one knew what it was then. But Ivan decided to join a partnership so as not to run from the police...
Regarding artistic studies... It didn’t work out for him at the Academy. However, at that time his father, a Leningrad battle painter, taught there. And Ivan learned a lot from him. This was facilitated by large orders of military paintings. The father was always critical of his son's work. Almost never praised. But later I began to trust to add something to my works. At that very moment, Ivan realized that he could write something himself.
Ivan wrote in his father's workshop. He taught him in his own way. He'll come and fix it. He asks if his son understood. He will nod. And at this moment the father erases everything: “Write!”
Ivan Slavinsky came to France in 1993. I only went to look for four days. But these days were not enough. Was then New Year. We had a lot of fun. For the first couple of days, Ivan lay there, thinking in horror that I wouldn’t have time to watch anything. Then everyone got ready to go back. And Ivan met his future friend, a Russian guide, who told him: “Why do you need to walk around Paris with a headache? Let's change the tickets." And he remained in Paris with an expired visa.
The new friend showed all the places that, from his point of view, needed to be seen. But in the end he invited me to live with him so as not to overpay for the hotel. He rented a tiny 2x2 cell with his girlfriend. But there was a view of the Eiffel Tower. There was a tiny window there. But looking at it you immediately realized that you were in Paris.
Ivan was in Paris with his first wife. The four of us in that room were very crowded. The solution was found at a nearby construction site. They built bunks there. This left a lot of memories.
Soon Ivan bought paints, sat down in a corner and began to write something. Then I found a gallery where a Russian girl was selling paintings painted in Russia. It turned out that the girl knew his last name and had seen his work in a gallery on Nevsky. And Ivan wrote her a small collection. Money was made from the first auction. By that time, the initial money had dried up. The couple ate different canned food...
Ivan tried to write in different directions. But, as it turned out, it is very difficult for the French to understand this. If the artist wrote in a different manner, then this, and their presentation, should be at least extended in time. As a result, the pseudonym Marina Ivanova was born. That was his first wife's name. But the gallery did not want to take the work of the mythical author. Ivan said - here is the author, pointing to his wife. These were works of a new direction, and at some stage Marina Ivanova’s paintings slightly overshadowed the works of Ivan Slavinsky. Ivan even envied himself. He said: “Masha, look how famous you have become!” Caustic artists who knew each other gave Ivan the nickname Plum, thereby combining the surnames Slavinsky and Ivanova.
During the year and a half of living in France, no one asked Ivan for a visa. He even managed to buy himself a car and register it without having any documents.
He attributes his success in this to his ability to speak. He was mistaken for a Parisian. Plus, the French are very naive. If Ivan was asked for documents, he would say that the visa had already expired and the documents were now being processed. So I lived for some time with an expired four-day tourist visa.
But a little later they declassified it, at the customs point. A day in the French bullpen. As a result, I had to return to Russia. But I already had an invitation to France in my pocket. Then everything was processed as expected through the consulate.
A number of works by Ivan Slavinsky were bought for Bill Gates. Maybe. Not for Bill himself, but they definitely have them in their Swiss office... Also, the famous Formula 1 racer Schumacher has his work.
Ivan does not make copies of his paintings. I believe that we must always move forward. He doesn’t understand the artists who covered the walls of their houses with their paintings. Ivan had several of his paintings, which he considered brilliant, but he sold them. I just kept them in my mind as pictures to the level of which I should strive. And then, a year later, when he saw them, he thought that they were somehow weak. And if it hung in front of my eyes, it would slow down a lot...
Ivan does not like to give paintings. Not because it's a pity. He just doesn’t like to adapt to the viewer. But if you give it as a gift, then you need the person to experience positive emotions, that is, to write under it...
When asked what else he could do to earn money in life, Ivan replied that he could fix cars and play tennis with his children.
And he could fix cars. It's easy. Well, and probably also teach children to play tennis.
When asked how Ivan looked for models for his paintings, he replied that he initially had an image in his mind, and he needed just such a girl for the portrait. It’s impossible to invite people on the street because they are afraid. As a result, he hires professionals. Selects based on photographs. But in the end, plastic solves everything. There are beautiful ones, but not flexible, not convincing. Some sit down right away so that the picture is ready, while others have to spend hours looking for successful plastic poses. And it is important that a person does not have a complex. Artists have always painted nudes. And I don’t want to spend an hour convincing a model to undress...
For a long time I thought about who to tell about next. But after a recent trip to St. Petersburg, the choice became obvious. I will be very happy if I show this artist for the first time for someone. It’s amazing how beautiful, large-scale and talented he is, but so little is said about him in Russia. I have known him for a long time, several years ago I even went to Vasilyevsky Island to his personal gallery to see live. I don’t remember how I heard the name Ivan Slavinsky for the first time... But it was love at first sight.
Although I remember something... I think it was a television interview.
He is young, handsome, mysterious. There is so little you can find or read about him on the Internet. There are not even good reproductions of the paintings; they are all of dubious quality. However, I found an interview for Cosmo, where he is called the most expensive artist in Russia. Here it is, the dream come true of any artist, to sell his paintings for millions of rubles, to give interviews to glamor magazines. But that's certainly not the goal :)
Now he is 44 years old, he lives and works in St. Petersburg. He lived in France for ten years. Probably because of this there is so much impressionism, Paris, strange images, beautiful women shrouded in a halo of love... Being St. Petersburg and European at the same time, he creates own style paintings that art critics call “Fantastic Realism”. Although, many will think that surrealism and postmodernism could not be avoided here.
It seems that such complex in detail and elaboration paintings take a long time and sadly, however, something tells me that he paints them very easily. Putting amazing energy, talent, love, and strength of feeling into your painting, because when you look at the paintings live they literally knock you off your feet. The scope, the purity of color, the brightness of the images.
Ivan Slavinsky clearly wants to amaze and save the world with beauty and perfection. And in my opinion, he succeeds like no one else...
"Master of Time"
“The eternal river of time gives and takes life, plays in streams of energy, rolls along the bends of matter, splitting atoms and throwing worlds into the void. From a thin stream of the beginning, not crushed at birth by a stone, gaining strength, this stream non-stop carries the past into the future or vice versa .. And to us, rushing past distant shores, sometimes it seems that we see the one who is carrying the stone to the source."
CITY
STILL LIFE
FANTASTIC SCENES
PORTRAITS
Interview by Cosmo
IVAN SLAVINSKY. Window to Paris
The most expensive artist in Russia does not comply with the visa regime, does not like to give paintings as gifts and is not going to persuade a girl to undress
The starting price for paintings by Ivan Slavinsky is 20 thousand dollars. In his paintings there is at the same time something from Vrubel, and from Degas, and from Petrov-Vodkin. A strong school of realism plus unclipped wings of imagination make fantasies real. And art connoisseurs are ready to pay any amount for this effect. Critics are racking their brains over whether it is proper to call an artist a genius during his lifetime.
COSMO You exhibited for the first time in St. Petersburg in 1991?
IVAN Yes. It was the Association of Free Artists on Nevsky, 20. But actually, I started, like many artists then, on a panel.
C Where was your panel?
And at Katka's kindergarten. It all started there with the artists themselves selling. At six in the morning, like a good fishing trip, it’s a cool place to score and hang out. And then there was a rumor that everyone would be kicked out if they did not become a member of the Association of Free Artists. Nobody knew what it was. But I thought that if I sell paintings on the street, and the police start chasing me, then it’s probably better to join this partnership.
C Where did you study? At the Academy?
And it didn’t work out with the Academy. But, despite everything, I went to my father. He taught at the Academy - Dmitry Oboznenko, a very famous battle painter. Basically, I learned from him all my life. At a time when he still had orders for large military paintings. He was always critical of what I did and almost never praised me. But when he began to ask me to add something to his paintings, I realized that this meant that I could already do something myself.
C It turns out, like in the old days, a master had an apprentice, and no academy is needed.
And this is how my father taught me? I wrote my works in his studio. And he looks, understands that I’m still learning, and comes up: “This is how it should be.” And it shows. “Well, that’s it,” I think, “I’m guaranteed an A.” He: “Do you understand?” - "Understood". He’ll wipe everything off with a rag: “Write!” And you begin to remember how he did it. I think that's how he trained me.
C Why is your last name not your father’s?
And oh, it's a complicated story. My mother is generally Patrabolova. The fact is that her first husband, Slavinsky, emigrated to England a long time ago. And he emigrated so hastily that he and his mother did not have time to divorce. In those days, you had to pay some crazy state fee for a divorce. And when I was born, it remained in her passport. But my father and mother were never officially married. Apparently, and great love there was nothing between them after all, and they never lived together. He, as a creative person, was an enthusiastic person. But my father always helped. Spent his time and money on me.
C How did you get to France?
And it was '93. Basically, I only went there to look for four days. But these days were clearly not enough. It was New Year. We walked a lot. The first two days I lay there, thinking in horror that I didn’t have time to see anything. Then everyone gathered back. And I met my future friend, a guide, who said: “Why are you running around Paris with a headache, let’s change tickets.”
C I understand that you stayed there much longer? Shouldn't you have gone back and gotten a new visa?
And it was necessary, of course. But the law is not written to us fools. The visa has expired, and God bless it. Another week went by very quickly. Our friend showed us places that, from his point of view, needed to be seen: discos, clubs, bars, various friends. Time passed in some parties. And then he said: “Why do you need to live in a hotel and pay one hundred euros every day. Let's move in with me."
C Was he French or Russian?
And Russian, of course! His father worked at the Aeroflot representative office. And he was a guide and rented a cell with his girlfriend for his own money - it probably wasn’t even two by two. Two by one and a half. Facilities in the hallway. Attic. But the view is strictly of the Eiffel Tower,
14th district. Everything was as it should be with romance. There was a little window there that the cat could barely crawl through. But it was immediately clear that you were in Paris. I was with my wife first, and he was with his girlfriend. What to do? It was necessary to accommodate somehow. There was a construction site nearby. We went there and made bunks. Well, he gave us the place of honor below, and he and his girlfriend were upstairs. Of course, we had a lot of stories there. For the rest of my life I remember how I was sleeping, and in the middle of the night my wife pushed me in the side, pointed up and whispered: “Listen, they’re going to fall! Do something." Well, there is no need to interfere. I had to stand up and hold the bunk with my back. Play the role of Atlas.
C How did you start working?
And very soon I went, bought paints, sat down in a corner and began to write something. And I found a gallery in which a Russian girl was selling paintings that were painted in Russia. It turned out that she knew my last name, she saw me in a gallery on Nevsky. And I made her a small collection. And from the very first auction I made some money. But I must say that by this time I was already completely exhausted financially in Paris. We were already eating some canned food, almost cat food. I tried to work in different directions. But it turned out that it is very difficult for the French to understand this. If an artist works in a different manner, then this should at least be spaced out in time. First you have the pink stage, then the blue stage. And at the same time you cannot have all stages at once. So what should I do? This is how the pseudonym Marina Ivanova was born. My first wife was called that. The gallery could not take the paintings of the mythical author. Well, I said - here’s the author, if anything. These were paintings of a new direction, and, I think, at a certain stage, the paintings of Marina Ivanova eclipsed the paintings of Ivan Slavinsky. I was even jealous of myself. He said: “Masha, look how famous you are!” And caustic artists I knew gave me the nickname Plum - Slavinsky-Ivanova.
C Did you live there without a visa?
And basically, no one asked me for a visa for a year and a half. I even managed to buy a car and register it without having any documents in hand.
I can’t imagine how you managed it. Probably solely on personal charm.
And I am, perhaps, a capable person in some ways. There is no voice or hearing, but linguistic mimicry is good. And for the first five minutes, when I started speaking, they took me for a Parisian. Then, of course, mistakes appeared. But for all their bureaucracy, the French are very naive. If they asked me for documents, I said that the visa had expired and the documents were now being processed. It never occurred to them that a person could have a car, receive and pay bills, live like a Frenchman, and still get by on a four-day expired tourist visa.
C How were you declassified?
And the next year we decided to take a car ride to the south. From Paris we drove to Biarrizza. Since Europe is a single economic zone, there are no borders there. But there are mobile customs points. And when we passed the turnstiles, I didn’t even see the customs officers, but there was some kind of leapfrog there with the traffic lights. In general, I went somewhere wrong. And they thought that we saw them and tried to hide. Well, they demanded documents. They took us to a village near Bordeaux to investigate. There are computers there. Well, it’s normal - a whole day with my wife in the French bullpen!
C And how did it end?
And We had to return. But I already had an invitation back in my pocket. And here in St. Petersburg I went to the consulate and formalized everything.
C They say Schumacher has your paintings. Who else from famous personalities?
And a number of works were bought for Bill Gates. Well, maybe Bill Gates himself doesn’t have them, but their Swiss office has them - this scientific fact. In general, gallery owners never say who they sold your work to. Therefore, you can know about your customers in a very abstract way.
C Have you ever made repeats of your paintings?
And I don't make copies. If someone needs a copy of my painting, let them contact another artist. I believe that you should always move
forward. That’s why I don’t understand artists whose entire walls are covered with their paintings. The work is good - I understand, it’s a pity for the man. But it seems to me that this is still not entirely correct. I had several works that I considered, without false modesty, to be brilliant! Then I sold them, but in my head they were put aside as works to the level of which I need to strive. And then somehow it turned out that after a year, two years later I saw them. And I thought: “It’s all somehow weak...” And if it hung before my eyes, I would be calm - no, it slows me down very much.
C Have you ever had to give paintings as a gift?
And Yes. But I actually don't really like doing this. Not because they can be sold, not because of that! When you write a paper, you do what you like. And when you give a gift, you want to please the person. So that your cockroaches do not run away from the picture to him, but so that he looks at it and experiences positive emotions. And you try to understand this person, to adapt to him. And the picture turns out to be a little different from yours.
C What else could you do for a living?
And he could fix cars. It's easy. Well, and probably also teach children to play tennis.
C They say that in order to become your model, you need to go through a tough casting. This is true?
And (Laughs.) I don’t have a strict selection process like fashion designers. It’s just that it’s unpleasant for me - and this applies not only to women - to write ugly things. I know that there is such a direction. The whole West is sick with this nonsense - people write things that should be disgusting. It's okay to shock the public. And you try to write something beautiful, for real. Try not to disfigure the beauty, preserve it, and maybe even enhance it. That's the point in modern portrait? I don't mean those portraits that are drawn from photographs. Even if the person is not very handsome, good artist will still give it something attractive. Every person is beautiful at certain moments. You just need to find this moment and convey it.
C So how do you look for models?
And I have an image in my head - I need a girl like this for this picture. Well, where will I look for her? What, pester you on the street? There have been so many such cases - you see, you stop. And she: “Yeah, an artist? It's clear. They wrote to me once already... I know how it all ends.” Well, why go and waste magical energy (Laughs) when you can invite professionals who understand what is needed from them. You select from photographs. But there is another matter here - plastic. One girl will come, sit down and nothing else is needed - the finished picture. There is no need to bend her fingers, she sat down and that’s it. Another one will come - it seems like a beauty, but she will sit down and everything is clear - which means I will be trying to twist you into some position for two hours. Not our option. Therefore, there is no standard. Plasticity is probably the main thing. No 90-60-90. I need the person to be fairly uncomplicated. From time immemorial, artists have painted nudes. If I spend half a day convincing a girl to take off her clothes not for anything but for work - well, just imagine!
Ivan Slavinsky was born in 1968 in Leningrad. How professional artist has been operating for about twenty years. He began to draw in childhood, and acquired further skills as an artist in art school, which is at the Academy of Arts. The artist's talent, presumably, was learned from his father Dmitry Obozenko, who was a famous battle painter in Leningrad.
In 1990, the first exhibition of works by Ivan Slavinsky took place in St. Petersburg in art gallery"Association of Free Artists". Both spectators and critics recognized the artist’s unique talent, after which he immediately became famous in the city on the Neva. Since then, he began to be invited to various galleries in Moscow and abroad.
Then Ivan worked abroad and lived in Paris for seven years. His canvases have become a permanent decoration of private collections in Italy, France, and Holland. In France, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Holland he is considered one of the best Russian artists.
The starting price of paintings by Ivan Slavinsky is 20 thousand dollars. In his works, many notice at the same time something from Vrubel, Degas and Petrov-Vodkin. Many people are willing to pay a lot of money for such a powerful “mixture”. Some critics speculate about whether it is proper to call an artist a genius during his lifetime.
Ivan himself talks about his artistic history... He started not in the Association of Free Artists, but on the so-called panel. It happened at Katka's kindergarten. The artists themselves sold their works. From early morning they came as if they were going fishing, to take a “fishy” place and hang pictures. And soon it became clear that everyone would be kicked out if you did not become a member of the Association of Free Artists. No one knew what it was then. But Ivan decided to join a partnership so as not to run from the police...
Regarding artistic studies... It didn’t work out for him at the Academy. However, at that time his father, a Leningrad battle painter, taught there. And Ivan learned a lot from him. This was facilitated by large orders of military paintings. The father was always critical of his son's work. Almost never praised. But later I began to trust to add something to my works. At that very moment, Ivan realized that he could write something himself.
Ivan wrote in his father's workshop. He taught him in his own way. He'll come and fix it. He asks if his son understood. He will nod. And at this moment the father erases everything: “Write!”
Ivan Slavinsky came to France in 1993. I only went to look for four days. But these days were not enough. It was New Year then. We had a lot of fun. For the first couple of days, Ivan lay there, thinking in horror that I wouldn’t have time to watch anything. Then everyone got ready to go back. And Ivan met his future friend, a Russian guide, who told him: “Why do you need to walk around Paris with a headache? Let's change the tickets." And he remained in Paris with an expired visa.
The new friend showed all the places that, from his point of view, needed to be seen. But in the end he invited me to live with him so as not to overpay for the hotel. He rented a tiny 2x2 cell with his girlfriend. But there was a view of the Eiffel Tower. There was a tiny window there. But looking at it you immediately realized that you were in Paris.
Ivan was in Paris with his first wife. The four of us in that room were very crowded. The solution was found at a nearby construction site. They built bunks there. This left a lot of memories.
Soon Ivan bought paints, sat down in a corner and began to write something. Then I found a gallery where a Russian girl was selling paintings painted in Russia. It turned out that the girl knew his last name and had seen his work in a gallery on Nevsky. And Ivan wrote her a small collection. Money was made from the first auction. By that time, the initial money had dried up. The couple ate different canned food...
Ivan tried to write in different directions. But, as it turned out, it is very difficult for the French to understand this. If the artist wrote in a different manner, then this, and their presentation, should be at least extended in time. As a result, the pseudonym Marina Ivanova was born. That was his first wife's name. But the gallery did not want to take the work of the mythical author. Ivan said - here is the author, pointing to his wife. These were works of a new direction, and at some stage Marina Ivanova’s paintings slightly overshadowed the works of Ivan Slavinsky. Ivan even envied himself. He said: “Masha, look how famous you have become!” Caustic artists who knew each other gave Ivan the nickname Plum, thereby combining the surnames Slavinsky and Ivanova.
During the year and a half of living in France, no one asked Ivan for a visa. He even managed to buy himself a car and register it without having any documents.
He attributes his success in this to his ability to speak. He was mistaken for a Parisian. Plus, the French are very naive. If Ivan was asked for documents, he would say that the visa had already expired and the documents were now being processed. So I lived for some time with an expired four-day tourist visa.
But a little later they declassified it, at the customs point. A day in the French bullpen. As a result, I had to return to Russia. But I already had an invitation to France in my pocket. Then everything was processed as expected through the consulate.
A number of works by Ivan Slavinsky were bought for Bill Gates. Maybe. Not for Bill himself, but they definitely have them in their Swiss office... Also, the famous Formula 1 racer Schumacher has his work.
Ivan does not make copies of his paintings. I believe that we must always move forward. He doesn’t understand the artists who covered the walls of their houses with their paintings. Ivan had several of his paintings, which he considered brilliant, but he sold them. I just kept them in my mind as pictures to the level of which I should strive. And then, a year later, when he saw them, he thought that they were somehow weak. And if it hung in front of my eyes, it would slow down a lot...
Ivan does not like to give paintings. Not because it's a pity. He just doesn’t like to adapt to the viewer. But if you give it as a gift, then you need the person to experience positive emotions, that is, to write under it...
When asked what else he could do to earn money in life, Ivan replied that he could fix cars and play tennis with his children.
And he could fix cars. It's easy. Well, and probably also teach children to play tennis.
When asked how Ivan looked for models for his paintings, he replied that he initially had an image in his mind, and he needed just such a girl for the portrait. It’s impossible to invite people on the street because they are afraid. As a result, he hires professionals. Selects based on photographs. But in the end, plastic solves everything. There are beautiful ones, but not flexible, not convincing. Some sit down right away so that the picture is ready, while others have to spend hours looking for successful plastic poses. And it is important that a person does not have a complex. Artists have always painted nudes. And I don’t want to spend an hour convincing a model to undress...
Ivan Slavinsky was born in 1968 in Leningrad. An unrestrained dreamer and master of visual riddles, he began to draw from childhood; he acquired professional skills at an art school at the Academy of Arts. He inherited the gift of painting from his father, a famous Leningrad artist Dmitry Oboznenko.
The first exhibition of Ivan Slavinsky in St. Petersburg took place in the gallery “Association of Free Artists” in 1991. Spectators and critics unconditionally recognized the painter's unique talent, and he immediately became famous in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
Since 1997, he has been a member of the Union of Artists of Russia.
Later, Ivan Slavinsky worked abroad, under exclusive contracts with European galleries. His paintings became a decoration of private collections in France, Italy and Holland. In France, Great Britain, the USA, Germany, Italy, and Holland he is considered one of the best Russian artists.
Carnival, oil on canvas 2007
Verona, oil on canvas 2007
Iris, oil on canvas, 2007.
Lilas Rouge, oil on canvas, 2007
Mask, oil on canvas, 2006.
Palette, oil on canvas 2006
At the mirror, oil on canvas 2005.
Flora, oil on canvas, 2007
Untitled, oil on canvas, 2001.
Winter, oil on canvas, 1997.
