VLADIMIR DIKAREV

VLADIMIR DIKAREV



ARTISTIC STATEMENT
My study of philosophy, literature, poetry, and religion has informed my painting and drawings, particularly when these ways of understanding the world preserve and enhance what is most human about us. I use metaphors to symbolize, explore, and express the power of universal creative forces that both ennoble us and reveal a deeper human existence often lost to us. I believe that, although we are part of a universal creation that provides us with spiritual qualities, these qualities often disappear beneath the majestic buildings and powerful machines we have made for ourselves.

Fortunately, we can find our humanity because disappearance flows into discovery and creativity leads to revelation. These ideas are found in the images and shapes of my work, often appearing from the chaos of the lines, much like the work of ancient Chinese artists who said the hand follows the brush. The fluidity of my art connects the completion of a particular work with the beginning of another providing the freedom necessary to continue to search for the humanity we have hidden from ourselves.

EDUCATION
1968 BFA with Highest Honors, Uzhgorod Fine Arts College, Uzhgorod, Ukraine
1964 Diploma, Art School, Berdyansk, Ukraine

AWARDS
2004 First honor, Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul, MN
1996 First honor, Planetary Renaissance, Landmark Center, Saint Paul, MN