10 Questions with Anton Kolesnikov

Anton is a self-taught artist. He was born in Russia. At the age of 24, he moved to Canada and is currently living in Spain. He started painting in 2022, and since then, he has created over 100 paintings and drawings. Anton mostly paints oil portraits and abstract paintings, but also has a series of pencil drawings. Anton works in an office job during the day and paints in his free time.

@isyournameanton

ARTIST STATEMENT

In art, Anton looks for unintentional and passionate qualities. These qualities tend to come from a place in an artist's mind that is hard to observe directly but can be easily felt once they become a painting.

Kids in village, oil on canvas, 60x40 cm, 2024 © Anton Kolesnikov

INTERVIEW

Let's start from the basics. What inspired you to start painting in 2022?

It started before 2022 when I saw paintings by El Greco that I felt very strongly about. I had never been very interested in art before that. El Greco and his floating-in-the-air figures with somewhat distorted shapes - as if they were under the water - made me unexpectedly happy. Since then, I started to look for other art that would have the same impact on me. It was not easy, but later, I found more and more of such art, including Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Francis Bacon, and Philip Guston. It was just a matter of time before I began painting myself.

You are a self-taught artist. How did you develop your skills? And what resources helped you along the way?

I think every artist faces the same question: is their drawing, painting, or sculpture good? How does one know if what they created is worth any attention? Never having any formal artistic education, the only way for me to answer this question, was to trust my intuition. I thought that since I felt strongly about other artist's paintings, I should apply the same measurement against my own art. The only skill I develop in art is sensitivity. It directs me in the process ofpainting, and it also tells me when to stop and if the result is good or not.

Girl in lights, pencils on paper, 20x30 cm, 2024 © Anton Kolesnikov

How has your experience living in Russia, Canada, and now Spain influenced your art?

The type of art that I like most does not have a place of origin and does not belong to one country. It is more about one's character than about visual culture. Style is something that we think we notice first in any art. However, there issomething behind the style that makes us say: "I love this!". That "something" is essentially the artist's character transferred onto canvas. We either feel dear to the artist or we do not. An artist cannot be liked by everyone. I think that anobserver's experience with art is always very personal.

How do you find the time and balance between your office job and your passion for painting?

Obviously, time is a limited resource. Regardless of what you do, you need to have time for it. But most important is the energy or passion to do something. You could have time to draw or paint, but do you have the energy to do it? When I started painting, I soon realized that I could not do it the same way I did my office job. It cannot become my second job because I will give it up very quickly. For me, art cannot be exhausting; it needs to happen without forcing myself. It is never an analytical work; it is spontaneous and honest. Being truly honest always frees up a lot of energy.

Can you describe your process when creating an oil portrait? How do you choose the subject, and how do you achieve the desired look?

When it comes to portraits, I always look for faces that I find amusing. That often produces peculiar results. Whether I find the person funny, moody or beautiful, it creates energy to make art. When I start I never have an image of how the painting will look in the end. I chose the colours spontaneously and oftentimes I purposefully "spoil" parts of the image that I think are good. That either kills the image or brings it to another level.

What do you mean by "unintentional and passionate qualities" in your art, and how do you capture them?

I do not like analysis in art. I want my art to be as unintentional as it can be. I want someone to look at my painting and say: "I do not understand; how did he come up with this image?". And the answer would be: "The artist did not come up with it." It just happened. Everything that I call "beautiful" is not created by one's thinking process, as beauty is always beyond thinking. Sometimes, if the subject resonates with me, it helps me to distance myself from thinking and creates unintentional features in the image.

Couple, oil on canvas, 60x50 cm, 2024 © Anton Kolesnikov

Do you have a favorite piece among the 100 paintings and drawings you've created? Why is it special to you?

My favourite painting is called Couple. I could call it "perfect". A perfect painting is not something that everyone likes, but it is perfect for the painter or for an observer. It has a balance that is spontaneously achieved without the painter's will. This painting amazes me because it has no flaws and because I never meant it to be the way it turned out. I have no idea how it happened, and it is not a figure of speech.

How do you feel your art has evolved since you started painting in 2022?

I think my art has become more personal. In my first painting, I was afraid to open up and wanted to create something that would impress other people. That is why they are more demonstrative and less direct. I feel that today, my paintings are simpler but, at the same time, more precise. Maybe simplification is the way my art is going to develop in the future.

Stupor, pencils on paper, 30x35 cm, 2024 © Anton Kolesnikov

What are your future goals or projects as an artist?

I feel that art is developing in the same direction I am developing as a person. How that will affect the art itself cannot be predicted. However, I feel I am no less passionate about it than I was in the beginning, so I cannot wait to see how that will reflect in the work that I do.

And lastly, what would you say to someone like you that would like to get into painting? Any words of encouragement or warning?

I would encourage anyone to be attentive to what they do NOT like about art and then exclude that from their own work, regardless of how important they think it is. That will leave them one-on-one with the things they are truly interested in.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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