Even decades after trying to create a world governed by technicalities and regimes, to see human beings as so prone to manipulability is naïve to say the least. Human beings are not machines. There is a worldwide interest in spirituality, inspiration, experience and identity. They are the opposites of the ongoing process of mechanisation such as procedures, control systems, bureaucracies and regulations.

Andrey Medvedev has come to realise and accept this constant struggle. He cultivates contrasts by poking fun at existence itself, while at the same time admiring the beauty of it. One can sense an underlying social concern in all his images and compositions. Medvedev expresses a concern for the path which humanity chooses to take. But unlike other artists, he does not show an alternative path that we should take, but instead holds up a mirror for those who are willing to see that every individual and every system can only be changed from within. Every individual is faced with this task or challenge, and this seems to be the visible and seemingly tangible thought behind Medvedev’s work.

Medvedev not only accepts contrasts but also builds bridges between expressions of reality. In Girl in Blue he creates the image of a young girl who’s inner beauty streaming from her eyes creates a sense that she is truly content and seems untainted by her complete lack of hair, representing the sinister world she lives in. Happiness and true inner beauty cannot be manipulated. A similar message is portrayed in Together, where the figures of a sailor and his less than reputable mistress, who were evidently born for each other, show that their happiness is much more powerful than the pressures of disapproving and manipulative society. In all his portraits, Medvedev manages to give expressions to emotions in masterly fashion, varying from fear and doubt to pride and passion.

Andrey Medvedev does not work to any specific norm, but has created his own retro style. Almost without exception, the face is painted in detail, not with the precision of a camera which only explores the surface, but with colours and contrasts that reflect an expression of the soul at that precise moment. Medvedev is able to penetrate the face and connect with the essence of his figures. The space which he creates seems to be devoid of gravity, giving the impression that the individuals portrayed are floating above the ground. His compositions, the positions of his figures and the apparent lack of gravity provide his work with a mystery all of its own. The imperfections and strange juxtapositions summon up questions about our existence and the absurdity of life, but likewise the beauty of the glaring contrasts of the 21^st century.

Medvedev’s work is instilled with humour and irony. Humour means the world poking fun at humans. Irony means humans poking fun at the world. According to the philosopher Soren Kierkagaard humour begins when the individual becomes aware of his or her limitation and sees the relativity of everything. Medvedev uses humour and irony as an expression of the vulnerability of existence, which is not equal to a life assurance of any nature whatsoever.

Given his age (1960), his unrivalled productivity and the name he has acquired (his works having been included in numerous collections including the State Tretyakov Museum in Moscow), expectations for the future are justifiably high. In our ever-shrinking world, his mirror is increasingly more universal and certainly much more straightforward.

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