My beliefs

I believe that any work of art must contain an element of surprise. For this reason, imagination is the central component of my practice. I am interested in artistic statements that do not imitate reality but transform it. I prefer when a painting speaks for itself and engages the viewer’s intellect directly, requiring effort rather than offering explanation. The image should be understood without a prompter.

Process of creation

I studied journalism, literature, and screenwriting. I have a clear understanding of how narratives are constructed: exposition, development, climax, and
resolution. I actively use these narrative principles in painting.

I begin by inventing a complete story, but the viewer encounters only its climax. The remaining
structure is intentionally absent and must be reconstructed mentally by the viewer. Through painting, I explore absurd, comic, and tragic moments of human existence. I avoid landscapes and still lifes, my focus is on people, observed
through contradiction, vulnerability, and humor.
I have developed a distinctive technique using a roller as a primary tool. This method creates a dense, layered surface that suggests volume and internal
illumination, formed by interwoven linear traces reminiscent of wood grain or pencil hatching. The technique is not decorative; it supports the emotional and psychological tone of the work and reinforces the inner tension of the depicted situations.

My practice is driven by the ongoing need to refine this language and to continue working through painting as a medium capable of holding narrative, ambiguity, and emotional complexity simultaneously.

Greetings,
Mikhail Baranovskiy