Watercolor sketches of Andrey Yesionov: do not go for a ball - be trouble

Watercolors, paintings and graphics of Andrey Yesionov were presented in different years in the Russian Museum, museums of Tatarstan, Samara and Tashkent, where he was born, received an art education and began a professional career. It feels like there was something in his life that we don't know, some experience that wasn't art.

His cycle of evangelical stories was presented several years ago in the Vatican and the Roman Pantheon, where the most unexpected exhibitions of artists from different countries and not only of a religious nature are constantly arranged. Sometimes you are amazed by the courage and breadth of views displayed by the host. To be admitted into this magnificent and full of mystery space is a great honor. The evangelical cycle has also been shown in several other Roman Catholic churches, the only one in the history of contemporary Russian art.

Esionov’s works have also been exhibited at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts and Drawing, of which he is an honorary academician.

In the Moscow gallery, each of his works is located as if in a window into which the visitor looks. A little moved away and the angle of view changes. It's impossible to look inside. The lighting is such that watercolors resemble illuminated stained glass.

This is a series of urban plots, fleeting sketches, flashes of everyday life. Mostly portraits and paired scenes, most often isolated people who happened to be nearby. They can pass without noticing each other. It would seem impossible not to see the legs of women sticking out of the sewer hatch, but the man in the suit, most likely out of the office, is so busy talking on the phone that he does not notice anything around in the watercolor "S.P.Q.R."

Strawberry Alliance features two completely different women. They are very close, but exist in the thick of the city bustle and street market. One can only imagine why the artist gave the picture a berry mood with his name. Andrey Esionov is often unexpected. Once you read it, your first impression of what you see is wrong.

The Definition of Obedience is a street scene where a man seems to be talking to two dogs and hovering over them like cat furies.

The child running for an inflatable balloon resembles the young hero of the film “Man Walks for the Sun” Mikhail Kalik. The artist with the name of his work warns: “Do not go after the ball”, be trouble.

In the watercolor "I won't let you push me around" - he and she, this time - a couple, but between them there is a complicated dialogue. The drama of the stop frame creates a silent conversation.

“My Moscow” is not a cityscape in the usual sense, but a portrait of a woman and a muse, in bright red, but soft and gentle tones. Behind you can guess the slightly blurred and airy Kremlin towers and church domes.

Even the artist’s self-portrait is called “Don’t shuffle with a brush”, calling the creator to discipline and responsibility for what he creates.