Sanya Kantarovsky, a Russian-born, Upstate New York-based artist known for his haunting, darkly humorous figurative paintings, discusses his studio practice in an interview with CULTURED. He works across painting, video, animation, and sculpture, and at Frieze London, the British gallery Modern Art will present 15 new stoneware sculptures by Kantarovsky, which showcase his dedication to the art and science of painting through glazes incorporating copper carbonate, cobalt oxide, and manganese dioxide.
This article matters because it offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the working methods and philosophy of a contemporary painter who bridges conceptual and traditional approaches. Kantarovsky’s comments on the difficulty of being both a good artist and a good painter, his influences (including Andrei Rublev), and his critique of the art world’s focus on power over art provide insight into the mindset of a serious practitioner navigating the current art market and exhibition landscape.