Valentin Savtcheko

Biographie

SENS-ART
Spatial screens of Savtcheko.
We live in the world of spatial screens.
The first screen is a mirror which gives us an idea of who we are and forms a notion of image. This art is like a spatial screen in its best manifestation. It is full of symbols that allow to implement the protection and introjection. In other words, the artist’s pictures projected on the platitude create an idea of environment space and allow to realize the world around and to understand the human nature.
The movement SENS-ART was founded in 1983 in Leningrad by Russian and French artist Valentin Savtcheko. Developing the idea of « Russian cosmisme » of the end of 19-20 centuries , he has created his own conception of space, his global vision of the world. If for Nicolai Fiodorov, the founder of «Russian cosmisme», this was the harmony of the worlds with their resurrected fathers, for the author of (« Black square ») and the founder of « suprematisme » movement Kazemir Malevich it is planetary vision itself, for Savtcheko, the combination of the global idea about the Universe and a symbol which can be recognized and which is created by the mankind as a sign of existence is important. Being educated on the ideas of Kandinski, Malevich and Filonov, Savtcheko thinks that consideration of images as minimalist initial structure of pure geometry is a totalitarian gesture. Though within previous centuries the development of the artistic style of Savtcheko from the « new wild » pure picturesque paintings to abstract compositions with collage and assemblage elements was occurred, his works are still characterized by a specific manner of narration, usual for symbolism in art. The pictures of Savtcheko are inhabited by personages in his virtual spatial world. Savtcheko tells, for instance, the same story as an unknown Russian icon artist or a painter of Renaissance Luka Siniorelli in his paintings « After Revelation ». But presentiment of « After Revelation » is made by the man living in the crossing of 20-21 centuries. Using an old technology of oil painting including the collage, Savtcheko creates the impression of virtual space, space of computer which is designed by digital technologies.
To be in the space of Savtcheko paintings means to be in virtual icons which are full of traditional symbols, mass product of the updated technology (elements of optical fibre) and abstract geometric compositions of the third dimension. The Savtcheko paintings are symbolic screens which return the diversity of new virtual world with the help to traditional technology.

Olesya Turkina
Art Critic
Russian Museum - St Petersburg

Influences

Kandinsky, Malevitch, Filonov, Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci

Formation

L'artiste au travail