Mikhail Evstafiev ~ my new passion! This man has been around. He was born in Moscow, in 1963; his experience with art started at an early age as his mother, grandmother, and great grand father were all well known Russian sculptors, and they inspired him to cultivate his own style of art. As a child in their studio, he learned how to draw, paint and work with clay. Although his great, great grandfather passed away before Mikhail got to know him, he also was a painter. Mikhail graduated from the Moscow State University with a Masters Degree in International Journalism in the mid-1980’s.
During the late 1980’s Evstafiev volunteered to serve in Afghanistan, spending two years witnessing many combat operations and the 1989 withdrawal of Soviet troops. In 1997 he published his novel, “Two Steps From Heaven” about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. “The novel is an excellent example of Russian “accurate fiction.” It puts a human face on the Soviet soldier without sparing the gory details, like the hard to comprehend top-down authority and license for physical punishment and humiliation within the Russian army, the mental suffering which young soldiers and officers endured during their catastrophic experience in Afghanistan, or the gruesome killings of innocent Afghan civilians.” “It also portrays the ordinary Afghans who suffered enormously under the Soviet occupation” (en.wikipedia.org) The first ten chapters of “Two Steps from Heaven” is available online in English at http://artofwar.ru/e/ewstafxew_mihail_aleksandrowich/theafghanwindblowsagain.shtml.
Working for prominent international news associations in the 1990s, Evstafiev covered wars and armed conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chechnya, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Tajikistan and Transdniestria, the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, and the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993. Mikhail Evstafiev’s art works and photographs have been exhibited in countries around the globe, including Austria, China, Russia and the United States, in locations as the Hofburg Congress Centre, State Kremlin Palace, Maly Manezh Exhibition Hall, the Central House of Artists in Moscow, and the Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
His paintings and photographs are in collections of the Moscow House of Photography and SOLMS, Gallery der Leica Camera AG, and in private collections of those living in Andorra, Austria, Britain, France, Poland, Russia and the United States. His work has appeared in leading international magazines and newspapers and has been published in numerous books (en.wikipedia.org) While his work is, and has been exhibited, I was unable to locate any online, other than his website.
Since 2003, Mikhail lives with his family in Vienna, devoting his time to painting and writing, and advising international organizations on communication and public relations matters (evstafiev.com).
“Village on the Sea” #183 40 x 40
There is not a whole lot on Evstafiev’s artwork. As far as I know, he (and his family) currently live in Vienna, Austria. This is also where his studio is so I assume his paintings are created there. The total information available on his site you will see posted here. On his website it states, “Over the years Mikhail developed his own style and technique (he uses palette knives to merge layers of (oil) paint directly on the canvas, and then slice them open by scratching the finished painting), a style that cannot be directly categorized” (evstafiev.com).
He is called an avante-garde painter in the “List of Russian of Artists“. I think his style could be called expressionist, except that occasionally he puts titles on them, and by doing so the viewer’s interpretation is led down a path in a particular direction. Not that it is a bad thing; it is his personal vision or experience of a particular time, scene, or moment that he is relating to the viewer. It is his right to decide what he wants to do with it and how he wants to share it.
I am in love with his paintings. They glow with a vibrant energy. Mikhail Evstafiev has an excellent eye for color in my opinion. This painting feels like it is what the title says it is; a village on the sea. It reminds me of where I live; Homer. The sun peaking through the clouds overhead and glistening off the sea. The ocean and sky are glowing and the sea air is all sparkly.
There is good balance in this painting. The split-complimentary colors are beautiful. While the marks and scratches are very organic and free-flowing, there is one quite long horizontal scratch approximately two thirds towards the top of the canvas. Three-five radiating scratches shoot out from the left edge. Tighter, busier scratches are seen below in the darker blue area. The scratches are even well-balanced and well-organized. I feel it is a very harmonious and peaceful piece of art that would be a welcomed addition in my home.
“Untitled” #6146 40 x 40
Even with the big band of red on top, my eye is drawn first to the heart of red-orange in the center, and then to the analogous blue against the green in the bottom portion of the canvas, then up through the white areas – all while that red band is calling to my attention. When I finally get to the Big Red Band it is like staring at a neon light against the contrasting green. wow. The energy and paint strokes in this painting are mostly horizontal, along with the red band. The scratches are faint, organic, and some seem diagonal in nature. wow. Looking at this painting I just had a amazing view-shift. I see it in an entirely different way. It is if I am looking down at a sparse forest, possibly had been burnt at one point (I am seeing all the vertical black marks are like dead burnt trees), but are beginning to grow back, there are patches of snow on the ground. There are patches of red earth, and there are patches of small blues flowers. It looks so real. Looking at it, the red at the top became a window. Magic! Another one for my Christmas list…hint-hint…
“Untitled” #0330 40 x 40
Gazing at the blues in this painting, they have a moving quality; slowly rolling and swelling like an ocean. At first I thought it was a lake, but it is big and deep, with amazing light reflections. The yellow-gold in front feel as though they are leaves swirling on a breeze. Again, I feel the energy is mostly horizontal, but wavy, swelling. There is super slow-mo movement up and down in the blue background, while the golden leaves are swirling in the forward part of the scene. The blue goes from almost black-blue to nearly white-blue. Other colors are traces of green, white, orange-gold, red, deep violet, and a high intensity red-violet. I definitely interpret depth three ways in this painting. Visually, with the leaves in front to the ocean in back; the depth of the ocean water, and the scratches themselves, on the surface of the canvas makes for very interesting depth play. The scratches on this painting are mostly on the vertical and horizontal planes, with a few diagonals. Calm and peaceful, and energy swirling in the front. Another one that would look wonderful in my home; I think need to move into a bigger home.
“Untitled” #3 Galerie Am Roten Hof (Gallery at the Red Court) Vienna, Austria
No size indicated.
What a wonderful symphony of colours presented in this painting! The scratches are literally cross-hatches; very busy, but go so well with the pattern of the colours. Lots of complimentary colors. It feels like a flowing patchwork, with the colors merging into and layering with their neighbors. I feel a lot of depth; there is a good solid base to this painting too. It is asymmetrical; my eye is drawn to the area on the left third-half section of the painting, toward the middle. I do not feel much movement in this painting, other than the energy from the color combination, and that is plenty for me! I would love to decorate a room around this painting. I wonder how much a ticket is to Vienna…
“God decides how long your life is, but you decide how wide it is.”
“A finished canvas should show a frozen movement with the full force of the energy neatly preserved. When I move the colours and shapes born in my mind to a canvas the end result always fundamentally differs from the original concept. As if the rebel in me puts up a fights and seeks to go against the grain. The hundreds of scratches as never ending thoughts carved on top” Mikhail Evstafiev (evstafiev.com)
References
Mikhail Evstafiev http://www.evstafiev.com/bio.html http://www.evstafiev.com/home.html
Mikhail Evstafiev. (2017, September 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:19, November 27, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mikhail_Evstafiev&oldid=801540763
Two Steps from Heaven. (2017, September 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:17, November 27, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two_Steps_from_Heaven&oldid=801541430
Two Steps from Heaven by M. Evstafiev; First ten chapters
http://artofwar.ru/e/ewstafxew_mihail_aleksandrowich/theafghanwindblowsagain.shtml
First three paintings can be seen on Mikhail Evstafiev’s website http://www.evstafiev.com/home.html
“Untitled #3” at Galerie Am Roten Hof / Gallery at the Red Court, Vienna
http://www.amrotenhof.at/index.php/kuenstler
Nordland, Rod. NY Times. “The Empire Stopper.” “The foreign powers that have tried to control Afghanistan since the 19th century have all suffered for the effort. Now the U.S. is digging back in.” Photograph by Mikhail Evstafiev / Reuters in https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/world/asia/afghanistan-graveyard-empires-historical-pictures.html?mcubz=3
Risa Jackinsky 