Dorothy Circus Gallery is proud to present the last exhibition of the Turning Page programme, that ends with the solo exhibition of the Russian painter Andrey Remnev (Yakhroma, 1962).

The artist will present at his first Italian show, with the patronage of the Embassy of Russian Federation in Italy, the brand new series The Face of a Natural Force, a collection of 12 mesmerising and visionary oil paintings which will reflect on the relationship between Soul and Nature.

Undoubtedly inspired by the imagery and geometries of traditional Russian painting, Remnev invites us to master the emblematic visual language of Russian Icons, reinterpreted with a figurative style dense in symbolism in a contemporary key and under the profound influence of his passion for Italian Classical Art. Following his numerous visits to Italy, Remnev developed a very personal signature style which - despite still being deeply connected to defined traditional pictorial structures – recalls the Italian passionate aesthetic, while is incorporating the unique sensibility of a Russian soul.

Greatly influenced by Italian Masters, such as Benozzo Gozzoli and Piero della Francesca, Remnev enhances his technique and his canvases with the ancient tradition of egg tempera and oil paint. In a succession of layers of colour and images, his artworks are a true fusion between pictorial traditions and the contemporary, permeated with organic light and spiritual vision. The originality of this technique, unusual among the new generations of painters, constitutes the defining trait that Remnev's works so distinctive. In particular, the enchanting rendering of a jewel-like palette gives his paintings the regality of Byzantine art and the preciousness of Haute Couture.

The gold that characterises his works creates an effect that conveys to the viewer the feeling of looking at a precious fabric. The recurring choice of red and pink also helps to render his characters in a highly contemporary key, further enhanced by the intense and my- mysterious blue that, from Giotto to Tiziano and ultimately to Yves Klein, drop by drops keeps enchanting us with its sacredness. The preciousness of Remnev's works, which lies in the care and richness of the details and in the use of a wide range of colours, refers to the imagery produced by the unique creations of Gustav Fabergé. As in the case of goldsmith decorative products, in which the Russian influence was present together with the European one, we also find in Remnev a mixture of styles and eras that coexist together in a perfect balance of shapes and colours.

Although logic and rationality are implicit in the artist's style, always striving for a spasmodic search for grace and eternal beauty, Remnev's imagery is on the verge of magical realism. His female figures, the predominant protagonists of his work, positioned against as seemingly flat background, are always sprinkled by magical elements and seem to almo- st fly out of the canvas. Without any doubt, Remnev’s main goal for this exhibitions is to glorify femininity, which he considers the purest form and expression of Nature’s strength.

From Caldera, depicting a dormant volcano, to Direction of the Wind, in which we can see a lady symbolising a deep spirituality connected to the entire Universe, Remnev’s new series leads us to a journey in which pleasure is always linked to a perfect balance between natural elements, as masterfully represented in the work Thunder and Lightening.

“Here on the arid spine of the formidable mountain, destroyer Vesuvius” the poet Giaco- mo Leopardi wonderfully wrote in La Ginestra (1836), recognising in the dormant Vesuvio the killing potential of the untamed Nature, where nothing grows except for the Wild Broom flower, strong and resilient even in the toughest environments. In a similar analogy, Andrey Remnev recalls this principle, perhaps further reified in the intimidating but nonetheless surreal and beautiful female queens.