Robert D'Arista, Monotype

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Interview with Alex Kanevsky at Painting Perceptions

Alex Kanevsky was born in Russia and grew up in Lithuania. He studied art there and also in Philadelphia where he now lives and works, teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. In this recent interview, Kanevsky addresses a diverse range of topics, from the evolution of his work and his influences, to thoughts about the relationship of drawing and painting.

"Looking at a good drawing is like talking to a completely insane person, who nevertheless says some beautiful and profound things."

"I feel connected to what so many other artists did. We are not in vacuum. The dialog really exists. I don’t think it is some sort of linear progression that art historians are so fond of. It is more like a complex fascinating conversation with many people, dead and alive spanning several hundreds of years. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to talk with Rembrandt, and there is no other way to do that for me."