Alex volkonsky

/Users/local/Desktop/max laura jorge-3.jpg alex volkonsky I am a local Washingtonian who studies art at the Corcoran,i play in two local rock bands and love to meet new people, professionally and personally, I paint and sculpt, wondwering where my mind will go . I work as the arms and hands of a well-known local artist who is dissabled. I hope to be a successful production manager dealing with multimedia, video sound and possibly advertising.Alexander Volkonsky 2007To play with the multi-faceted and constantly changing definitions in art, I elect to utilize elements of irony through convention. For me the use of such intentionally failed seriousness removes me from the constraints of the elitist artist critique. I do not desire to be indefinable in art terms (reflecting on the commonly misunderstood nature of my work) however; I desire to be viewed accessible through exaggerated sentimentality and elements of a modern kitsch. My work tends to poke at the conflict between what is deemed high art and what is deemed low art. One of my intentions is to remove the over-analytic conversation of high art and to reach for a point where self-alienation and elitism no longer limit art in the eyes of my potential audience. For me as a contemporary artist the utilization of “typical” art elements call to notice the progression of art as a whole and the underlying dichotomy between pure and conventional subject matter. Art elites today seem overwhelmingly confused by their own definitions and interpretations, this confusion is what prompts me to combine these elements that are in conflict in the art world – the modern and kitsch, the highly intellectual subject and the sentimental. In the most basic psychological explanation of my intention, I would say that I want to confuse the “over-analytic” by placing the common or obvious (often deemed too predictable in a contemporary context) in my work, this in conjunction with a stylistic approach that utilizes modern trends. My work may be deemed cheapened by critics for my insertion of traditional forms and medias, however this opens the door to a larger public understanding of what high art can be, and to encourage a public that seems to be apprehensive about art and its elite stereotypes. I want to pose an argument that skews all lines between the kitsch and the modern conventions of excess randomness and irony. As a translation of these topics I primarily work with methods of conventional art practices, mostly oil paintings that utilize techniques of renaissance masters. For my work the materiality evokes these themes of using conformity to non-conform to the current trends. I tend not to consider scale to be an impertinent factor when considering the culmination of my portfolio, but rather it is a case-by -case decision based on material and form. I work with highly rendered figures engaging in miscommunication with one another as an attempt to describe the conflicts between tradition and post-humanism. These figures are placed in landscapes and spaces that appear forgotten or perhaps post-apocalyptic. I use landscape to communicate ideas about the future, or potential destruction. It is then the application of digital skewing and unnatural color placing that pull these works into a sphere of modern trends – the use of technology in conjunction with the use of old formulas and subjects. I am fully aware and subject to my influences. Growing up in the modern city of Washington DC I became extremely familiar with aspects of commerce, social order/ disorder, culture, and politics. My mother and Godfather, who are both conservators of oil paintings, raised me. With them I was always at numerous antique galleries unintentionally soaking up the influences of the old masters and modern artists. My father is an “aristocratic” man from Moscow who had left the US when I was a young boy. I hold a great deal of respect for my lineage and I do consider myself to be mostly Russian. With the apprehension of being too overwhelmingly personal I tend not to incorporate elements of my own personal heritage in my work. I have been extremely interested and good at musical performance since I was a young boy. The stage can be a potential utopia and a potential hell for me; I am extremely influenced by the spontaneous actions that involve performance, and the theatrical / physical power of a live act, this translates into my paintings through my use of bright garish color and dramatically positioned figures. My approach and theories of art may come across as a bit rash and immature, however my primary intention (above all) is simply to have the power and pleasure of art to exist as a down to earth practice that is respected for its ability to express individualism. Fine art should no longer be viewed with such seriousness and pretension. I am still an advocate for fine craft as a mode of arriving at creativity, however I am happy to recognize those artists who shy from physical practice. (however I that find that to be art’s biggest cop out.)