he painting “Old New Cathedral” was created in 2015. It was inspired by a sketch I painted of an abandoned cathedral in the Ryazan region. This was the reference for this painting. However, I had not yet found my artistic style at that time, so it was waiting for its completion for several years.
I was still a student at the Faculty of Restoration at that time, and the sights of decaying monuments, traces of once beautiful but ruined frescoes evoked intense emotions of remorse in me. I still feel these emotions when I see a huge number of new buildings, while historic buildings that could have received the architectural and cultural heritage status are not always available to people. This is a major problem in Russia, as it is in many other countries. It leads me into a long philosophical debate on why the world is rushing forward so fast, sometimes trampling on and forgetting its history.
In terms of artistry, I was very attracted to the colors of the ancient brick, soil and snow. Thus, I first had the idea of capturing images of architecture as an element of nature changing under the influence of the natural forces.
Only in 2020 was I able to complete this painting. That time I finally realized that the impasto painting technique with a palette knife is my distinct expressive language. It creates a “seeing through hazy glass” effect in which the painting turns into a vibrating silhouette. This technique creates an antique effect, as if it were a ruined painting that may be restored and understood in its original form.
Perhaps this cathedrale no longer exists or has become a pile of stones with no clear shape. I now live in another country and do not have access to these sites. This painting has been presented in many exhibitions in Moscow and Georgia.
