Andrei Medvedev
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.

Oscar Wilde
OGD
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Artist Biography

Born:
Moscow, Russia, 24-Dec 1960
Education:
Graduate of Moscow Art College - 1979

Andrei Medvedev is one of the most creative, hard working and best selling Russian artists of his generation. His works can be found in Moscow Tretyakov State Gallery and in many high profile personal collections around the world.

The Russian artist has developed his own style which is closely connected to his unique personality as well as to his insight into people’s souls and psychology. Without ever abandoning beauty, he gives his paintings depth of thought while investigating the main forces present in all of humanity: good and bad, hope and fear.

“Most important of human being are for the artist the eyes”, as he says, “the eyes reflect the soul”.

The artist continuously attempts to catch and materialise the soul. The rest is depicted in a schematic way and in symbols, while beauty is ever around.

Through the eyes of his creatures that are the windows to their souls, we witness many things: uncorrupted innocence, vulnerability, irony and fate. Yet there is no denying the paradoxical element of humor, which is equally portrayed.

The artist has been painting since the age of four, when his grandfather first encouraged him to pursue and develop his talent. We can guess in his creations the strong influence and inspiration of Diego Velasquez, Medvedev’s most admired artist painter.

Andrei Medvedev dedicates his time to his art, his family (especially his young grandson) and to doing Readings at the Orthodox Church that he attends before 6 a.m. most mornings. His daily routine, full of love, splendor and spirituality, shines through in the creativity and sense of inner beauty of his works.

His figures talk to the onlooker, inspiring relationships between them and us. With every meeting, we discover something new in their expression, be it light-hearted or dooming.

Peter Van Rooy (German professor and art critic) on Medvedev:
The space which he creates seems to be devoid of gravity, giving the impression that the individuals portrayed are floating above the ground. His compositions, the positions of his figures and the apparent lack of gravity provide his work with a mystery all of its own. The imperfections and strange juxtapositions summon up questions about our existence and the absurdity of life, but likewise the beauty of the glaring contrasts of the 21st century.