Art Will Prevail: Russian Artist Costa Gorelov

Written by Micheal Swank and Francisco Solis

My mother would often say, “People tell you who they are.” In life, we learn this over and over again, so it comes as no surprise when a country’s aggressions disrupt the lives of millions on both sides of a conflict. However, it is important to remember that often countries act in opposition to who their people truly are or want for themselves. Russia and Ukraine stand as a current examples, and there are many artists trapped in the middle. Constantin (Costa) Gorelov, Russian, is one of those artists.

PRPG.mx has been working with this artist via our Exhibition Incubator program online throughout the pandemic and has been witness to his incredible creative sensibilities. The person we’ve come to know within our queer community is not represented or can be blamed any more than the Russian citizens trapped in the midst of the conflict. Many of these artists need an exit door to continue to express themselves and do what they do best: put a mirror to the depths of the human psyche. Costa believes that despite the conflict currently taking place between Russia and Ukraine, art can unite nations.

Costa Gorelov left Russia on a simple vacation after presenting with Dr. Robot Gallery at the annual Art Madrid this Spring. He had no idea that leaving his beloved studio, his often-featured Maltese, and family he may not be able to return. When the conflict broke into full war the artist knew that his queer sensibilities and opposing political views would put him in direct danger.

The young Gorelov was educated as a film director at the Moscow Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting. His experience as an artist, director, TV production designer, and fashion stylist, has given him a particular perspective and a unique aesthetic when painting art pieces. He received the Honored Artist Certificate in the "Artist of the Year 2020" contest conducted by the Up Coming Art Organization and participated in numerous exhibitions. One of his paintings, "Something About The Sea Locked Up," is in the Museum of Contemporary Art's permanent collection in Moscow, Russia. Currently, it is present in several European countries, mainly Spain and Portugal, and it's a member of the PRPG.mx residency in Mexico City.

"I absorbed two cultures, which shaped my view of my own art. In German art, I always liked minimalism, aloofness, asceticism, and the solution of the emotional structure through the outside world, interior objects, and the hero's relationship to things. I have always been fascinated by theater, ballet, and opera in Russia. From childhood, my mother took me to the ballet at the Bolshoi Theater, and it always seemed to me that real life was on stage, in performances, or in paintings."

From Russian literature, he takes the psychological depth he imprints to each of his paintings, which at first glance seem casual, but gradually reflect a hint of anxiety and paranoia.

"Paranoia as a consequence of anxiety and a certain sacrifice. Here, of course, I was influenced by the Russian school of painting and Russian literature. As well as a perfect lack of understanding of what will happen tomorrow. In Western philosophy, goodness is beauty; in Russian philosophy, goodness is sacrifice. My hero is trying to find himself, the most spacious self in this world, to find a fulcrum and a balance between sacrifice and beauty, between euphoria and melancholy; he is a lost character, traumatized, tormented by doubts, fears, prejudices while trying to find some kind of leverage to breathe freely. It's a kind of Saint Sebastian who re-lives his story every time, but always at different times and in different settings."

The self-portrait is one of Costa's preferred media. With it, he performs both introspection and projection of possible alternate worlds, in which he is the character of different stories. This has allowed him to explore his identity and sublimate his sexuality while assuming himself as an asexual being.

"I use self-portraiture in my work because for me it is the most comfortable way to interact with the audience. I feel like, in this way, I have absolute freedom to create and do whatever I want with my character, because it's me, and, in this way, I just do performances in my paintings… So, in my paintings, I can do whatever I want with myself. If I want to strip myself of sex and genitals or if I want to make some genitals, I can do it. The main thing I'm trying to do with this is to create just a role model of my character, who would broadcast a very personal story, convey an exclusively individual and acutely personal attitude to the world, and, at the same time, so that the viewer could feel understanding and support from my character."

In his paintings, Costa mainly uses a technique called the wave. This technique uses transparent oil to balance transparency and color brightness. Shadows and halftones of internal lines produce smoothness of color transitions. Constantin then dilutes them with varnish and leaves only the colored surface. He uses the superposition of transparent colors on top of each other, adding new shades in each new layer to give them character and achieve depth.

Given the current situation, Costa Gorelov has received international help from diverse artists and galleries to avoid returning to Russia while the conflict with Ukraine continues. In addition to the usual censorship, he risks being enlisted in the army to participate in a senseless war.

The situation has been complex, since Costa was outside Russia when the conflict began, which was fortunate on the one hand, and challenging on the other since he has had to find the means to not return and to be able to establish himself legally somewhere during this time. With no possibility of returning to his family, to his studio and resuming his own life, he has now assumed that everything has changed and has been hosted in Valencia, Spain by Dr. Robot Gallery, where he is currently waiting for a bit of normality to resume his production as soon as possible.