On October 3, 2019, Kvartira S held a private viewing of Vladimir Arkhangelsky’s paintings, “Without Words”. The exhibition took place in the halls of the Assambleya restaurant at the President Hotel.

The artist spoke to us about his work:

The paintings presented at the “Without Words” exhibition were created over the course of ten years.
All of them were painted exclusively from life. Naturally, I have favorite models whom I have been painting for a very long time, and I hope to continue painting them for many years to come. Yet I am always glad to discover new ones. But my relationships with my models are very particular, so I rarely paint people I do not know.
And the degree of intimacy has nothing to do with how long we have known each other. Either you feel an affinity with someone—you see them and want to paint them—or you do not.

More often than not, when someone volunteers to pose, nothing comes of it. I feel more at ease when I am the one who makes the suggestion, because by then I can already see the image I want to capture.
There is, of course, the matter of commissions. But even when it is a commission, I prefer to get to know the person. I need to see something in them, to find something to love, so that I can later reflect it in the work.

Everything comes into being in the moment of creation, when the model arrives. Sometimes we search for a pose for a long time; at other times, it happens in an instant. All my paintings are completed in a single sitting. I do not rework them. They are what exists here and now. That is the concept behind my art.

Until a person disappoints me or ceases to inspire me, I will continue to paint them.

Vladimir Arkhangelsky, gallery artist