The work of the graphic artist and painter Dmitry Andryeyevich Gutov can be divided into two major periods — “life-like” and “symbolic” painting.
After graduating from the Kyiv Art Institute, Dmitry Gutov came to Komsomolsk-on-Amur. He followed the traditions of academic painting and created works in a realistic manner. However, the artist’s philosophical endeavors demanded a more unconventional form of expression, and so he discovered encaustic painting, where the importance of linear perspective shrinks in comparison with the dominance of light and color.
Encaustic painting requires high focus and awareness at each step of the way. Wax paints made by a special recipe cannot be mixed on the palette and instead create color transitions during the firing of the ready work, when the paints “burn out”. Therefore, an artist working with such paints should think over all the details, differentiate between shades and prepare each of them separately, and then apply strokes in a quick and confident manner, so that the wax does not have enough time to cool down.
At the turn of the 1990s, Dmitry Gutov delved into the metaphysical teachings of Helena Blavatskaya and Nicholas Roerich. They were consonant with the artist’s own vision of nature as the heart of the Spirit. Its external, physical beauty is valuable not just in itself but rather as an embodiment of the life-affirming energy of existence. This explains the “imprecision” of Gutov’s landscapes: the artist was most interested in rendering the cosmic-scale energy of a particular place rather than making it recognizable.
In the composition “Along the Amur”, this energy is generated by the sun, shining brightly in the upper part of the painting. It seems to merge with the waters of the river in the middle ground and illuminates the shores near the lower edge. In contrast to human life, this metaphysical sun, like mountains, the air, and rivers, is everlasting and permanent.
Each of the elements in the painting is highlighted. The metaphorical and ever-changing character of the images allows the artist to blend the tangible reality of everyday things and the fantasy world of wonders. Gutov’s works are permeated with kindness, which fills the viewers with an elating feeling.
After graduating from the Kyiv Art Institute, Dmitry Gutov came to Komsomolsk-on-Amur. He followed the traditions of academic painting and created works in a realistic manner. However, the artist’s philosophical endeavors demanded a more unconventional form of expression, and so he discovered encaustic painting, where the importance of linear perspective shrinks in comparison with the dominance of light and color.
Encaustic painting requires high focus and awareness at each step of the way. Wax paints made by a special recipe cannot be mixed on the palette and instead create color transitions during the firing of the ready work, when the paints “burn out”. Therefore, an artist working with such paints should think over all the details, differentiate between shades and prepare each of them separately, and then apply strokes in a quick and confident manner, so that the wax does not have enough time to cool down.
At the turn of the 1990s, Dmitry Gutov delved into the metaphysical teachings of Helena Blavatskaya and Nicholas Roerich. They were consonant with the artist’s own vision of nature as the heart of the Spirit. Its external, physical beauty is valuable not just in itself but rather as an embodiment of the life-affirming energy of existence. This explains the “imprecision” of Gutov’s landscapes: the artist was most interested in rendering the cosmic-scale energy of a particular place rather than making it recognizable.
In the composition “Along the Amur”, this energy is generated by the sun, shining brightly in the upper part of the painting. It seems to merge with the waters of the river in the middle ground and illuminates the shores near the lower edge. In contrast to human life, this metaphysical sun, like mountains, the air, and rivers, is everlasting and permanent.
Each of the elements in the painting is highlighted. The metaphorical and ever-changing character of the images allows the artist to blend the tangible reality of everyday things and the fantasy world of wonders. Gutov’s works are permeated with kindness, which fills the viewers with an elating feeling.
