Autumn Sculpture

Hi, my name is Alexander Shvyrkov. I live in Russia. When I was young I studied art in private art studios. However, later I left the painting and devoted myself to science. At first I studied mathematics, then philosophy. Then for about 10 years I was engaged in political science. However, a few years ago I felt the desire for art again. Since then I have been regularly engaged in painting, drawing, sculpture. My favorite artist (since early childhood) is Rembrandt. I also love French impressionists. Recently I began to understand and appreciate abstract art. I like Pollock. I also try myself in abstract painting. I am not only engaged in painting. I also teach at the university, I am a Ph.D., a publicist, a writer and a philosopher. My works are in private collections in the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Canada. MY ARTIST MANIFEST Doing art should be like brushing teeth, cooking food, sleeping. Art should be as natural as breathing. Art should bring pleasure. You feel “flour of creativity” when your idea is not matured yet, when you are not matured. Doing art obeys a certain rhythm which you cannot change. If you follow it your works will be born easily, creating them will bring you joy and satisfaction. In the ideal case the artist does not create for the sake of the result, but simply because he/she cannot but create. However, it would not be correct to understand my words in the sense that creativity is a kind of obsession or mania. Here we can recall the comparison with breathing: on one hand it is needed to sustain life and on the other it does not require any effort. The artist does not create for something (or someone) but for some reason. Why someone creates, why he or she cannot but create is the greatest mystery of all times. The desire for fame, wealth is one of the main enemies of the artist. Another one is the rivalry with other artists, the desire to “surpass” them. Both are meaningless and destructive, as is the desire to breathe better than others. So, paraphrasing one of the great teachers of Zen, create when you want to create and don’t create when you don’t want to. There is no wisdom above this.