Some of Kudryashov’s most typical figurative compositions show landscapes, often urban ones, seen as if from window, somewhere high up. These segue easily into compositions that are, in appearance at least, entirely abstract, via others, where there are faint remnants of figuration – that is, if you are sufficiently clued in to look for them. These seem typical of his contemplative, slightly distanced and detached attitudes towards what he sees in the world as it confronts him.
Russia has a strong tradition of political art, which already manifested itself in the 19th century, long before Communism became the dominant force, and tried to harness art to a prescribed set of social statements and doctrines. Kudryashov will have none of that. Every art work he makes, whether figurative or abstract is a statement of his trust in his own individuality. That’s what counts: the creative freedom of the artist, with no constraining doctrinal boundaries or bonds.
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