Alexei Antonov |
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Click below for Alexei's Website!
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I was born in Russia in
1957, and I've been trying both hands (I'm ambidextrous) at
art ever since.
I can remember my self from the age of two,
and when I was three, I was the terror of my mother's
make-up
kit, as I loved to draw murals on the wallpaper with her lipstick.
All through my childhood
I continued drawing, and in high school,
though I left much to be desired in my other classes, I
excelled
in art and singing. I think that I was not a good student in
other areas, because I prefer
to teach than to be taught. Eventually
though, I learned to learn. In 1972 I entered the State Art
College in Baku, where impressionistic, realistic, and abstract
painting were taught...but no
classical. I joined other students
in minor revolts against communism by growing my hair out,
looked
for hot chicks, and even studied quite a bit. In 1976 I graduated,
and went to work at the
Reseach Institute of Design in Moscow.
From1986 to 1990 I lived in Moscow and worked as a
graphic artist
and illustrator for magazines published by the main Russian
Press Agency,
"Novosti" (News). I also designed posters for
leading pop singers and rock groups during this
period of time,
but my most important work was the active and attentive study
of the technique
of the old masters such as Rubens, Van Dyke,
and Snyders. This is when I met Nikolai Shurigin,
a successful
artist and Russian patriot, who, though younger than me, had
already discovered
much about this technique and was powerful
both in his painting and in his personality. I learned
much
from and with him. I left Russia for the first time in 1988,
when I visited Italy to study the
paintings in the museums and
exhibit some of my own. In 1989 I opened Rubens Gallery in Moscow,
under the sponsorship of the central youth newspaper, "Komsomolskaya
Pravda". I also took part
in numerous exhibitions in Moscow,
which were covered by the Russian Press. I have
been living
and working in the USA since 1990, and it's a good
thing, because if I were still in Russia, I never
would have
made this beautiful web page for you to enjoy. This unique classical
technique is
practiced by very few artists at this time and
is no longer taught in art schools. My works are in
private
collections in many countries around the world. |
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