Valery (Valerius) Ivanov

I explore this world through my paintings. And to me, it is a wonderful, magical place. When I paint, time - that concept that dictates our modern lives, ceases to be. I do not eat, I barely drink, I do not sleep because I am possessed with a fervour to create. I am in a state of utter bliss - it is a feeling I can only describe as Nirvana. I once painted 600 paintings in 60 days while possessed by this enchantment that pulls me to the canvas time and time again. I build a fairytale world around myself and through me it becomes reality - both in my work and in my life. The magic on my canvas quickly sweeps into my life; every day becomes a miracle and I treasure every single moment. I believe that a painting is the fusion of the Divine with the earthly/mortal, which leads to a miracle. Seeing an artwork is a spiritual experience, but at the same time it is temporal because the viewer want to live it, to experience it, to admire the colours, to feel it and to understand its creator. I want those that see my art to feel Nirvana as I do. I used to believe that every individual painting was extremely precious. One day I realized that while I thought this way, there would always be a barrier between myself and my true artistic potential; I would be too afraid of ruining my precious painting to truly experiment with my work. I have since discovered the freedom of experimenting and of stumbling onto new materials and techniques. I work with mixed medias - acrylics, tempera, ink, quill pens, markers… I mix different materials and instruments. I allow the creative current to take over me and use any materials or techniques I want, without giving it so much as a thought. My painting grow out of one another - out of my experiments and happy accidents. There is no first or twentieth painting because there is no time when I paint - there is only the creative flow and artistic growth and expression. My style is "ethno-enfance". I mix different cultures; the most obvious example is that many of my artworks feature elements inspired by Arabian text, thus ethno (ethnic). At the same time, I maintain a purity and lightheartedness in my work, which is inspired by the beauty of childhood (enfance). My philosophy is simple - life first.

Valerius's art can be found in the found in the following galleries: Ann Jacob Gallery, GA Art Vivan Gallery, Charlotte, NC B. Deeper Gallery, Louisville, KY Carlton Gallery at Creekside Galleries Banner Elk, NC John Collette Fine Art, Highlands, NC Sanibel, FI Fairhope, AI Portfolio Gallery, Columbia SC Loblolly Frame Shop and Gallery Athens GA Filli Gallery, Chicago, IL Valerius's art can be found in the following private collections: King of Nepal Beatrix, the Queen of Netherlands Santa Claus, Lapland, Finland A-HA Philippine Mathilde Camille, Baroness de Rothschild Jean-Claude Carrière As well as in many private collections in Italy, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, USA, Netherlands, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Japan, Nepal, and Russia

Higher Education: Valerius earned his degree Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, the oldest design school in Russian and one of the most prestigious art schools in Russia. Early Education Valerius began his artistic studies at the Sibayskaya Detskaya Khudozhestvennaya Shkola (the Children's Art School of Sibay) He continued his education at the Respublikanskaya Khudozhestvennaya Gimnaziya-Internat Imeni Kasima Askarovicha Davletkil'deyeva (Republican art school named after Kasim Askarovich Davletkildeev)