Versatile artist finds happiness and tranquility in impressionistic paintings of nature

Versatile artist finds happiness and tranquility in impressionistic paintings of nature // American Art Collector, 2005

The artist graduated with honors from the prestigious Surikov Academy of Art under the study of academicians O.Verensky and A. Gritsay. He worked on the reconstruction and restoration of the famous Danilov Monastery, the residency of the All-Russia Patriarch, while studying iconography under the tutelage of the master of iconography Father Zanon. In many ways this has strongly influenced his inner vision and his special attention to the light and color. Oleg has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Russia and abroad and his work can be found in museums and private collections around the world.

Versatile artist finds happiness and tranquility in impressionistic paintings of nature.
Whether it’s his minimalistic yet brightly colored abstracts of his vibrant, impressionistic landscapes, versatile Russian artist Oleg Nefedkin has been continually attempting to perfect his style since graduating from Moscow’s prestigious Surikov Institute of Art in 1982.

Even so, Nefedkin still finds it difficult to adapt completely to only one style of painting.
“I do not adhere to any particular style or trend,” says Nefedkin. “I am painting according to my own rules of beauty where style is often dictated by the theme. That is why my works are a range of abstract paintings that reflect my search in plasticity of color and light that is true to the classical school.”

In this new exhibition, Nefedkin has focused his eye on seasonal landscapes. And, unlike other work from the past, his new paintings are completely inspired by the “unique beauty and emotion of nature.”
“I did not want just to depict our habitat, but to convey the high density of emotional filling, the languor that is spilt in our landscapes,” says Nefedkin. “Beauty and harmony, everything that nourishes our feelings.”
Just after graduating from art school in Moscow, Nefedkin, while working in a publishing house, traveled to Siberia and Northern Russian his spare time to practice his landscape painting. Beginning in 1983, he worked in the museum of the old Savvino-Storoshevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod where he spent his time studying Old Russian icon paintings and other various frescoes.

His work in the monastery allowed him to gain a greater understanding of not only the history of Russian art but also the kind of commitment that working as an artist inevitably requires.
“I think that the style and mentality of these works lies in the depth of life, which is very difficult to connect with any formal style,” says Nefedkin. Profundity and beauty are more important than formalism.”
“The major turning point in my commercial carrier happened at the beginning of the 1990s, when collectors from United States and Western Europe started purchasing my works and thus gave me hope to be able to live and work as an artist.

In 2001, I was also able to have successful shows in London, Paris and Washington, D.C.