 My
paintings, my art has no sense and delivers no message. For
me, it is a salutary illusion; a wonderful or terrible lie.
For this reason, it's the responsibility of the viewer to establish
his or her own logic and feeling, relying on the objects, color
and compositions offered to them. Not even in the smallest way
is my art important to society; I do not set for myself any
social goals, do not solve any moral dilemmas, or elaborate
on general ideas. My art can only be important to the distinct
and separate personality, only the individual viewer is important
to me.
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As a successful artist, book
illustrator and theatrical designer in the former Soviet Union,
Igor Galanin enjoyed professional success and recognition-without
freedom of expression. Yet he had an inner mechanism that understood
what freedom was all about. Within his personal, painted kingdom,
Galanin let freedom ring. If he wanted a chair to rest on water
instead of a floor, he put it there. If he thought the fruit
in a still life should go floating out of its bowl, away it
went. Seeking liberty for himself and his family, Galanin emigrated
to the United States in 1972.
On the surface, Galanin's paintings are purely a celebration
of the sensual. In this carnival of earthy delights, women
with delicate, aristocratic features and round, voluptuous
bodies take center stage. Whether they are enjoying a park
vista from the comfort of a bench, or flying threw the air
on the trapeze, Galanin's big beautiful women remain serenely
in control of their surroundings. Expressing a wholly unique
artistic, vision these technically masterful painting contain
lighthearted nods to mannerism, to Surrealism, and to the
dainty theatrical caprices of Jean-Antoine Watteau. Galanin's
jewel-box palette and dramatic use of dark backgrounds may
bring to mind Russia's decorative black-lacquer art objects,
as well as religious icons.
Perhaps because they are the direct descendants of this venerable
artistic tradition, Galanin's cast- bronze sculptures possess
a timeless simplicity and power. They have the same energy
and charm as his paintings, and frequently treat the same
subject matter. Each original or limited-edition sculpture
is cast in bronze, then colored through the application of
acid and heat. When placed outdoors, the sculptures will develop
a rich patina.
Galanin's Rooster-a symbol of life's regenerative forces-stand
a little more than a foot tall, yet has a striking presence
and mastery. It's smooth, hand-burnished contours capture
the softness of puffy features, while the rich, varied brows
of the patina resemble burl wood. Colored in a silver pewter
tones, Galanin's Swan is composed of S-curves that suggest
both fluid grace and the element water. With chararistic insight
and humor, Galanin has imagined his Hippopotamus as the creature
that he would feel most at home:half submerged, and with a
bird for a companion.
Galanin's cosmic circus would not be complete without its
ringmaster. In his Self Portrait with a Rabbit, the
artist appears with his personal guiding spirit and muse-the
creature who best personifies playfulness, joy, and eagerness
to experience life. Like the rabbit that led Alice down the
borrow to Wonderland, Igor Galanin and his muse invite us
to journey through layers of poetic meaning into unique, wonderful
worlds-no passport required
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