Once in a while, you meet an artist who instantly inspires admiration and awe from their talent, philosophy and craft.
We were lucky enough to meet such a person in Denis Belyanskiy, an artist working in Kiev, thanks to an introduction by leading Ukrainian interior designer, Victoria Alekhina.
Victoria invited us to an exclusive event, where she was launching a collaboration with Denis – three stunning, large artworks to be hung in a modern home outside Kiev. The artworks are stunning – in their genesis, ambition, execution and scale.
Created by Deniys and a team of 4 artists, they depict a journey through a mystical paradise. Thematically, the work mixes together Orthodox iconography, European romanticism and Asian influences.
Deniys craft and vision have created a timeless, endlessly engaging piece of work. His artistic career began (renovating) Orthodox icons. Like the monks who originally painted these icons, he sees the artist’s craft as not putting paint onto canvas but using paint to release the light from the canvas.
Working with just fine brushes and gold, black and white acrylic paints, Deniys spent five months organically creating the rich, mystical, organic pieces. Incredibly, he did this without a sketch to work from – instead, he listened to music from his favourite composers to maintain a rhythm and heartbeat to his work.
It was a total privilege to meet Denis and spend time with his incredible creation. Already, we’re thinking of how we could collaborate with him in the next FEATHR wallpaper and fabrics collection.
You can read more about our trip to discover the Ukrainian art and design scene here.
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