Textural Dynamics BY ROBERT ROTHCHILD (Robert Rothchild - Art Collector, Art Historian, Art Connoisseur).
Sergey Fedotov, born 1968 in Moscow, worked as a physicist until his passion to become a painter superseded his involvement with scientific research. Mr. Fedotov developed quickly as a painter, absorbing many artistic influences that eventually evolved into the basic characteristics and concepts of his own style. Some of the more important sources of his art are the emotive effects of German Expressionism, the arbitrary color and wild brushwork of the Fauves, the tendency towards the abstraction of form found in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the works of Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso, and the paintings and philosophy of Kandinsky. Fedotov was further influenced by the paintings of faces by Jawlensky and the agitated still-lifes of Soutine. The Abstract Expressionist movement of the mid-20th century, with its non-objective, often internalized subject matter, its characteristic free brushwork, and “action painting” application of medium and color to canvases, is one of the most important elements in the development of Sergey Fedotov’s style. Painterly brushstrokes, explosive color, emphasized texture, dynamic movement throughout the composition, and the emotional responses evoked by the work, are the essential features of the artist’s paintings. Fedotov’s brushwork, which is forceful, energetic, strong and lively, is an important aspect of his pictures. He applies the oil paint liberally, rapidly, confidently, and with tremendous gusto, and the paintings derive their vitality from this brushwork. Also, he uses his palette knife to apply the paint to the canvas, and slashes, dabs, strokes, flicks and rubs the oil paint onto the surface. The brushwork is done in various lengths, thicknesses and configurations, and the intricacies and spirited movements and patterns infuse it with a life of its own. The paint and the manner in which it is applied often become the true subject and the raison d’être of the picture. The fascinating textures that characterize the paintings of Fedotov also are the result of his brushwork and the way in which the artist chooses to apply the paint. The texture ranges from flat, scrubbed areas in which one can see the bare woven threads of the canvas, to thick, heavy impasto strokes of paint. His art reveals a loving relationship with the paint itself and the actual process of putting it on the canvas. Texture, with all of its rich complexities, is an integral part of Fedotov’s finished work...
S.Fedotov. "Before the Storm", Oil on canvas, 35.4 x 55.1 in. 2013