Vladimir Kush
Vladimir Kush was born in Moscow, Russia; near the forest-park, Sokolniki. At the age of seven, with general education, Vladimir began to attend art school until late evening where he became acquainted with the works of great artists of the Renaissance, famous Impressionists, and Modern Artists. Vladimir Kush entered the Moscow Higher Art and Craft School at age 17, but a year later he was conscripted. After six months of military training the unit commander thought it more appropriate to employ him exclusively for peaceful purposes, namely, painting propagandistic posters. After military service and graduating the Institute of Fine Arts, Vladimir painted portraits to support his family during the hard times in Russia. In 1987, Kush moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in a small, rented home garage, but was unable to find a place to display his paintings. He earned money by drawing portraits on the Santa Monica pier and eventually was able to purchase a ticket to his “Promised Land,” Hawaii. In 1993, a dealer from France noticed the originality of Kush’s work and organized an exhibition in Hong Kong at the Schoeni Art Gallery. Success surpassed all expectations. In 1995, a new exhibition in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Fine Art Gallery brought more success. In 2001 Kush opened his first gallery, Kush Fine Art in Lahaina, Hawaii. He now has 4 gallery locations in the USA.
Romain Laurent
Romain was born in 1983, and studied photography at Les Gobelins in Paris. Since 2006, he has been working as a freelance photographer. He has a strong instinct for conveying contemporary themes and complex urban scenarios. In 2009, he directed his first film for Marathon de Paris. The highly refined and sophisticated narrative form of his approach to image has made him a major stylistic influence as the representative of a generation of young talents.
Artist’s Name: Vladimir Kush
Title of Artwork: Breakfast on the Lake
Description: This piece is a lake in the middle of a mountainous area. There are some trees that all have highlights on the canopies showing the sunlight hitting them. There are people on the bottom right corner. There are also a lot of dark and light spots depending on where the object is placed. A lot of the shapes on this painting are rounded off.
Analysis: You can see the rays from the sun behind the tree. The first thing I notice is how the sun is blocked by the tree, but it’s supposed to look like the sun’s reflection is in the lake, but if you really look, it looks like an egg. The lake has dark and light values in it showing the shadow’s and the bright sun (and/or egg) reflecting off of it. The ground, trees, and mountains are very bumpy/rocky making it look more realistic. The light from the sun is highlighted in all the right places. Overall, the values in picture give it depth.
Interpretation: I think the meaning of this painting is taking “having breakfast on the lake” literally. Most of the time people will say that when they are going on a boat or something, but Kush really put breakfast on the lake. The yellow spot in the lake is supposed to be the reflection of the sun, but it really looks like an egg because the rings around it (or ripples in the water) look like the edge of the egg.
Judgment: I personally really like the piece and think it came out very successful. Before even reading the title, I could tell that the lake was supposed to look like an egg. Covering the sun with the tree really gave it that effect. I also really like how he made the sunlight hit on each part of the background objects so well (ex. trees, mountains, ground, lake). The concept was great and portrayed very well.
Artist’s Name: Romain Laurent
Title of Artwork: Unknown
Description: This piece is of people going on a hike. There is a couch, lamp, and table on the left hand side. There are a bunch of trees in the background. There is also light coming in from the trees on to a little pathway in the background.
Analysis: The first thing I notice is how the man and woman are walking through what looks like the woods; but in actuality is a wall. The shadow from the lamp is being shown on the light brown wall and well as the woods wallpaper. The sun is coming through the trees in the background. The guy and the girl also have shadows that are reflecting onto the ground in the woods, making it look more realistic.
Interpretation: I think the meaning of this picture is that if you use your imagination, you can do anything and go anywhere. You have to believe it to do it.
Judgment: I personally really like the piece and think it came out very successful. The way Laurent did the picture made it eye catching and drew you in. I also really like how the guy is half in the woods and half in the living room. It makes it more interesting.
Compare and Contrast Vladamir Kush & Romain Laurent
Vladimir Kush and Romain Laurent both have similar styles. They both use nature in some sort of way. Whether it’s a landscape or an everyday location; such as a train station, room in a house,City Street, etc. Kush took the landscape of a lake and had the sun reflecting in it to look like an egg. Romain Laurent had a living room with a man walking through what looked like the woods but in actuality was their wall. They use the backgrounds to trick the eye into making it look like something it isn’t. In contrast, Kush puts certain ideas to his paintings. In this particular painting he used the idea of breakfast to be hidden. However, people might have had different views. Some might say it was really the reflection of the sun, and others will say it was an egg. Romain Laurent doesn’t hide what he is trying to portray. He really makes his idea the focal point of the picture. He wants it to be the first thing that catches your eye.
