“Mental shortcuts”

SHEVCHENKO PETRO, born in 1986, Moscow. At the age of 12 he moved to Greece with his parents. In 2015 he graduated from the College of Arts Akto (Athens). Exhibited in Greece (2015 -2018), Venice (2019), Italy (2017, 2018) and Russia (2018).  His works are in private collections in the whole Europe. “Painting is the core of Shevchenko’s practice; the environment where he expresses his most complex ideas and reveals the latitude of his visual vocabulary. Combining rhythmic patterns, complex personified form of figuration with expressive use of color, he erases the differences between the physical act of creation (applying paint to the canvas, placing colour and form on the pictorial plane) and metaphysical assumption (the development of a very personal visual speech to express non-visual phenomena). Again and again, reminding the viewer about the expressive power of painting. Shevchenko offers to look at other realities, prompting the viewer to watch, and enter some ecstatic trance”, – said Patrick Langley, English writer, art critic, correspondent of Art Review and Frieze magazines. The majority of his works suggest aesthetics which is not immediately available, but has many illusions and metaphysical aspects of his conversation with the viewer. It also performs a secondary, more personal function of rebellion against the culture of momentary pleasure, – emphasises Tanya Van Breda, curator of  Vienna Contemporary.