Wanja Surikov

My art is based on a long tradition of icons and depictions of cults in world art and different religions. I have formed and discovered a new unifying symbol of Faith - the Artist of the World.
The artistic image (New Religious Cult) is dedicated to the Artist of the world, therefore the center of all paintings is assigned neither to the figure of Christ, nor to the image of a saint, as in traditional icons, nor to Lenin, as a political idol, etc., but is assigned to the Artist as a creator, and artisan ... Thus, Contemporary Art acquires its idol, acquires new strength and takes a new, more significant position in the World for the development of mankind.

The concept of my paintings is called Transversal Iсon, as my art direction was named in Germany 25 years ago, whom I worked there with H.J. Müller in the Altlantis project.
In my paintings, the figure of the artist is presented in the manner of a priest, occupying the central part of the canvas and armed with the attributes of his discipline or craft: a brush, canvas and the flame of knowledge. They portray their saint along with Christ and Lenin, but I put him higher, which, obviously, can serve as a metaphor for the popular idea that art is higher than religion and politi...

State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart

1995 solo exhibition "Wanja - Artist of the world" Gaeria Hans-Jürgen Müller (Stuttgart)

In 1996, Wanja became one of the first artists invited to co-design the MARIPOSA cultural project in Tenerife. Since then he has been closely associated with the project and its founders.

2000 solo exhibition “Wanja” Hospitahof / Stuttgar (catalog)

2008 individual exhibition Museum of Icons Frankfurt am Mein "Wania - mediator between Cultures" (catalog)

2015 solo exhibition Museum of Contemporary Art (TEA) `` Santa Cruz de Tenerife), a great retrospective, which includes works created in MARIPOSA. (Catalogue)

He is currently in the process of presenting a large painting in honor of Thor Heyerdahl's 100th birthday. CEIBA Festival in Guïmar / Tenerife