Landing from a flight bound for Hong Kong the day before yesterday, Russian artist Nikita Mogilevtsev from the Ilya Repin St Petersburg Academy of Arts reminisces about the mountain ridges outside the plane window.
“I love mountains,” Mogilevtsev said. “I like painting mountains in sunlight.”
His newest painting series about those rugged terrains marks their debut at the Affordable Art Fair – which runs until Sunday – in which Mogilevtsev depicts snowy, jagged summits glazed in gold.
Nikita Mogilevtsev holds one piece named ‘Morning Song’ from his newest collection of works.
“I bring a few landscapes from China as well,” he said, nodding toward his framed work immortalizing Mount Paektu, which lies at the North Korea-China border.
“Air always has a color … The north is more gray,” he said, alluding to St Petersburg, his hometown, which welcomes brittle winters. But in the tropics, he sees more green.
From mountainscapes to portraits
Much of painting is rooted in perception and emotion. With over a decade of observing human features, senior professor Arsen Kurbanov from the academy translates that experience to his portrait paintings.
“Eyes are windows to the soul; through their eyes I can see their personality and their side of life,” he said, explaining the intricate expressions of portrait subjects on display.
Kurbanov has drawn on Russian realism traditions to present contemporary ideas – open for the audience to pause and interpret.
This August, the academy looks to host masterclasses for Russians and locals to discuss more on art.
When AI knocks
The explosion of artificial intelligence has posed an existential question for everyone in the creative field.
For Mogilevtsev, AI is an instrument in his sketching practice. However, he believes emotion outweighs machinery and “puts [feeling] on the canvas.”
To Kurbanov, the coming of AI is an opportunity to reflect on what art is – something that cannot be replicated – and the nature of painting.
Works by Arsen Kurbanov and Nikita Mogilevtsev displayed at the Affordable Art Fair.
Pride in Russian talent
As a viewer, Russia’s consul general to Hong Kong Anatoly Kargapolov said the paintings represent a high standard of Russian art in schools.
“The faces on the paintings, they show the Russian soul,” Kargapolov said. “These works are highly demanded among Hongkongers.”
The consul general is looking to attract more “very much talented” Russian artists to Hong Kong with an exhibition at the Palace Museum this October.
“When we are showing our art, we are showing that we are friendly to everyone,” Karagapolov said. “It makes Hongkongers feel comfortable among Russian communities.”
