DIRECTORY 2025

Konstantin “Zmogk” Danilov | Painting, Street art

Konstantin Danilov (b. 1979, Moscow) is a painter and muralist now living and working in Athens, Greece. A pioneer of Russia's 1990s graffiti scene, he continues to draw on that urban legacy in his current painting practice. He also produces prints, drawings, and digital editions. A common thread in his work is Danilov's technique of painting on the sides of each canvas, embedding concealed emotional layers that resonate beyond the primary image. He has held solo exhibitions at Moscow's Triumph, Fineart, and Reloft Art Galleries, and contributed to group shows at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and Burning Man/Sotheby's in New York. His artworks are included in the RuArts Foundation, Sofia Trotsenko Collection, the Montresso Foundation, and the STRAAT Museum.

As a painter, Konstantin Danilov studies the psychology of color to explore its impact on emotions, psycho-emotional states, and overall quality of life. His paintings balance figuration and abstraction, featuring semi-abstract landscapes—fictional or memory-based—and allegorical imagery to deepen engagement. This interplay between the recognizable and the formless invites viewers to reconstruct the processes that shaped the painting, encouraging reflection and exploration. Grounded in personal color perception, his artworks register emotional shifts and the intrusion of historical contexts, though it doesn't directly comment on current events. Instead, he aims to create visual "totems" that recharge the psyche through color perception. His semi-abstract approach stems from a desire to move away from forgettable topical imagery, presenting paintings as transmitters of energy and catalysts for emotional reevaluation. His process begins with an intuitive exploration of color's emotional resonance, leading to a sketch dominated by one color and supported by others. This evolves into a balance between subconscious spontaneity and deliberate structure. In some works, vibrant compositions extend onto the stretcher's sides, utilizing reflexive paint that casts light and vibrates peripherally, echoing subconscious emotions and memories that shape our surroundings and perceptions.

www.zmogk.com
@zmogk