Roswitha Schild about Pavel Leonov

THE EXTRAORDINARY QUALITY OF PAVEL PETROVICH LEONOV'S PAINTING IS PARTLY DUE to the genuine self-evidence, with which Leonov is combining his peculiar, always compelling pictorial inventions with universal, archetypal images and, simultaneously, with the tradition of Russian art. Comparisons with prehistoric representations of animals, with 1 5th century icons - representing either life-size Saints or historical events on various horizontal levels with the then popular horses and the stylistic means of isocephaly, - with ancient Russian tapestries, but also with Russian abstract art or even with examples of socialist realism would certainly be productive. However, despite these obvious references to the tradition of Russian art, it is clear to me, that Leonov's paintings could be understood all over the world, even though they usually refer to episodes of the painters life in his very own environment. These paintings have an universal truth and validity. One could compare them with famous stills of classical movies; although they were removed from a context and are referring to a story, they are expressive and typical enough to stand for their own.

Although the flying birds, the trotting horses, cars or trains are suggesting movement, every movement is neutralized by a counter movement. The resulting impression of timelessness - as well as placelessness - is being enhanced by the strict organization of the painting. As statements of place are usually not more depicted than sky, earth, water, trees or occasionally houses, and even those are stylized and rendered after recurrent patterns, so that the depicted scenes seem to be removed from an episodical everyday sphere. And yet they seem true.

Herein Leonov's paintings remind me of archaic sculptures, which through their stylization of the human figure are often reaching more inner truth, more authenticity then the classical, more naturalistic ones. This combination of distinctness of structure and rawness of style has an almost magical attraction to the viewer, but leaves the mystery to the work. Such artwork is comparable to poetry, where with every word something is at the same time being disclosed and concealed.

Roswifha Schild, Switzerland