Anatoly GANKEVICH

Anatoly Gankevich was born in Odessa,  August 24,1965

In 1981, he graduated from Odessa Art School. In 1993-1994, he attended courses at the National Center of Contemporary Art in Moscow. Since 1990, he began his professional career as an artist. Since 1991, he engaged in video art, the first video installation “Cleansing” in Gelman’s Gallery, Moscow. In 1992, Anatoly implemented the first pictorial project “Communion”. In 1993, he showed the first performance of “Resuscitation of a still life” in the Odessa Literary Museum. In 1993, took part in the international festival of performances in Lublin, in the gallery “Labyrinth”.

From 1995 to 2005 Gankevich was actively engaged in directing commercials and music videos, as well as producing visual effects in the film industry.

Since 2006 till now, he is focusing on the art projects in painting and video art.

GENERAL AND PARTICULAR. Artist’s conception.

In my art I work with such concepts as general and particular. This is when one self-contained pixel is part of the overall picture, from the micro to the macro world. I pay attention to the visual side of this kind of manifestations in the surrounding world. I find the quality of this subject interesting, especially its versatility. The range of themes and images is enormous, from pixel highlights on the water to video pixels in a television scan, from explosion particles to pixels from the blooming petals of trees.Mosaic language, like no other, is suitable for expressing in the images and colours of all the facets of this endless story.

I work in the author’s technique of imitation mosaic. These are traditional materials: canvas and oil. A thick layer of paint is applied to the canvas, and then a mosaic contour is cut through the sketch drawing. A mosaic texture is created. Painting is applied to the surface of the texture in a postimpressionistic manner, when each separate stroke, like a mosaic piece, is painted in the same color. I work with these sensations, impressions, imitating monumentality, which is a symbol of eternity.