subjects and then strip
their environment, in
order to better under-
stand their core. Once
stripped, they reveal the truth that lies underneath, which to Beljakov, is a
raw and vital energy. -Daisy Carrington
means of dissecting the forces of energy that makeup a person. A
student of yoga and meditation, Beljakov seeks a balance of the
and partly seeks to explore them. Beljakov invokes references from a bevy
of other cultures to aid in his analysis of the human spirit. He borrows in-
spiration from Eastern
philosophy, and ancient
Greek and Egyptian my-
thology. His influence
of ancient pictograms is
also evident in his work.
He enjoys the use of a
basic palette, consisting
of simple, often primary
colors, in order to draw
out what`s basic under-
neath the human form.
His use of contour has
a similar effect. He
incorporates a lot of
simple shapes, ovals
and circles, to convey
the same thing. Belja-
question the saneness of the world around us. In his vivid, expres-
sive paintings, real characters coexist with mythical figures in a
groups of otherworldly characters and
modern urban dwellers are depicted
as grotesque caricatures of themselves.
They inhabit a world where the famil-
iar features of cities and landscapes
are transformed into a stage for apoca-
lyptic events. Although full of reli-
gious allegory and mystical symbolism,
Kinigstein's paintings are also imbued
with a strong sense of irony. Through
his use of the full palette, the artist
creates an awry atmosphere of a car-
nival, where life and beauty exist side
details that give his fantasy worlds a sense of authenticity. Born in
1923 in New York and trained as a painter and designer, Kinigstein
has exhibited his works in such prominent museums as MoMA and the
Whitney Museum of American Art. -Sasha Vasilyuk