Audiences have forgotten the aesthetics of poetic painting. And when they do encounter it, they find themselves bewildered and pondering as to whether anyone still pursues it. As it turns out, yes! Someone is still concerned with the beauty of the scene, the transparency of light, the plasticity of movement, the expression of symbols and the overall compositional interaction that can be found on a single specific canvas. This is termed the art of painting and has undergone diffusion and transformation in the present art world. Modern realities have expanded the frontiers of art and inquisitive minds have tested its staying power bringing a entire generation fame. And the audience has wearied from this painful experiment. The artist Ivan Lukyanov executes that which has almost become archaic, taking a brush with paint to create a painting in accordance with classical canons and laws pertaining to painting techniques. Seemingly, what's unique? Is this not what is taught. But this is not attainable without possessing talent and passion for the visual arts or the desire to make a statement.

Artist Lukyanov's works encompass the entire world and show, regardless of his location, him drawing. This is his method of communicating with the world, the world of nature, the world of beauty, with encountered characters, the geometric of the cityscape utilizing fantasy together with his own spiritual beginnings. Each series is a part of his life spilled out onto canvasses reflecting the state of being during various periods inclusive of his realities. One can observe the passionate pursuit of a game with colors during a period of creativity or perhaps just a period of life together with an accomplished compositional balance throughout an entire series of cityscapes that were created in a entirely different time, somewhere in a different corner of the world.

Furthermore, and quite obviously, strong creative skills have lifted the artists' paintings to a new level of masterfulness. Composed figures fit neatly into any canvas format preventing the subject from dissolving and taking the viewer in a different direction. Quite possibly, the artists' graphic approach towards the interaction of objects should be seen as an aesthetic scale in preventing the space on the canvas from being overloaded and smeared.

Ivan Lukyanov is a contemporary artist not only as a result of him painting what surrounds us today. His creativity swings from light impressionism to figurative romantic occasionally moving to minimalism and then rising to spiritually confessional art. Only a contemporary artist possesses such a wide array of techniques and only a truly talented artist can manifest them in practice.

When the artistic source coincides with creative freedom, it leads to the attainment of new aesthetic heights. The intrigue of art is in each having their own definition of aesthetics and each is free to judge the subject in their own manner. And in the event that the opinion of audiences coincide, the artist can be deemed a success. This is exactly what transpired with artist Ivan Lukyanov and lead to his works being recognized at major expositions, eventually evolving to acquisitions by persons.

Svetlana Vais, New York Correspondent