Breathing in Painting

BIO Garegin Protopopov was born in 1979 in Moscow, in a family of hereditary artists and architects. He studied to become a jeweler at the Carl Faberge Lyceum of Decorative and Applied Arts, Moscow, Russia. In 2002 he graduated from the Moscow State University of Fine Arts named after S.G. Stroganov, where he studied Art History and Art Theory. For several years Garegin worked in Alexander Popov`s and Vladimir Mikhailov`s stained-glass studio and took part in the restoration of stained-glass windows of the Novoslobodskaya metro station in Moscow, Russia. The artist was also engaged in mosaics production. Namely, he participated in the restoration of mosaics of most pavilions of VDNKh Expo center in Moscow, Russia and created mosaic decoration for the St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia. Garegin is Co-founder of gold and colored smalt production "Goldsmalt" goldsmalt.ru Since 2023 he decided to devote himself to painting and creativity, where he connects his love for color and beauty with all the experience accumulated over the years of working with noble metals, stone and colored glass. As an artist, he reinvents his world. ARTIST`S STATEMENT. Black color does not exist. It neither exists in the shadows, nor at night. In my personal philosophy, this world is “woven” of different colors and of the gold of the Sun. My way of an artist is the one of a philosopher and an explorer: It is self-discovery through connection with the beauty of this World. My art is born where my feelings reach their highest point, and therefore it is as honest as possible. Landscapes and their fragments, caught at the point of revealing their beauty, details, the essence of things, their design, fractal structure and the logic of lines reveal to me the world of perfect proportions, integrity and infinite harmony. It is a true state of rapture that I want to capture, and a lofty sentiment that I want to share. Inspired by the colors and spirituality of Nicholas Roerich's works, I connect my art to the main aspects of the Russian cosmism philosophy. Freedom and spiritual space resonate strongly with me, which is why I feel drawn to large canvases: it is in them that I can convey a wide range of forms, shades, depth of space and impressions, as well as lay down the cosmic scale and mysterious grandeur of nature. The images seem to exist out of time, have no shadows and float in weightlessness, having no connection to the earthly.