reviews

At first glance, Igor Kalinauskas seems to embody the Renaissance "universal man" concept. Much like the Odysseus from Homer's epic, he is "the man of many twists and turns". Yet when confronted with this question, the artist replies: "There were Titans of Renaissance, and I am a "dwarf" of Renaissance." This multidimensional personality concept is extremely post modern. Here's how the artist himself defines the multidimensional nature of his persona in the contemporary context and society:

"I'm often asked, how do I separate all these different spheres of my life, be it art, music, theater, film, literature, psychology or philosophy, which all seem to bland into one, and define me as a person and a creator. You know, there's an individual, it is a set of social relations. But nobody needs it. Everyone needs a Person. It's like the Mask really. In ancient Greece that was what they called Mask. But now we denote some format by this word. All the society needs is a format and the rest is useless. That's why we are trying to add the relations of private life to the social interaction. And if you have the skill, you can create those persons using the inside of yourself. And they will be alive. I have a lot of them...

There is an artist Igor Kalinauskas, he even has another name INK, but that person is also me. There is a practical psychologist, an expert Igor Kalinauskas. There is a musician and a singer Igor Silin. I took this last name in my mother's honor, that's her maiden name. There is a theater director Igor Nikolaev (that is the last name I was born with). There is a specialist in esoterism with the name of Abu Silg. And so on, and so forth. They are not me, they are my creations."

Kalinauskas is known for his ultra contemporary and grandiose projects. The most famous among them, is undoubtedly the 1 million euro worth presentation of “The Last Supper”, which brought the international glory and fame to the artist and was exhibited in the acclaimed Leonardo Da Vinci National Science & Technology Museum in Milan, Italy. Kalinauskas did not stop, he further conquered the contemporary art markets of London - with his striking modern performances "Rebirth: Dreams and Memories" and "The Enigma", presentations of both projects took place in the very cradle of the London’s art market and scene - Saachi Gallery; he shocked the art world of New York (USA) and Zurich, Switzerland with his in-your-face, vivacious art show of “Wondering Stars”; he further stroke into the very heart of Milan’s art scene with his “The Last Supper: Spirit. Flesh. Blood” installation; and victored over the jeopardy-laced Moscow art-world with numerous tenacious, and ultra contemporary art projects: “The mystery of Time”, “The Space of Primary” to name a few.

Igor Kalinauskas is not only an internationally renown artist but also a member of the Vesuvian Academy of Arts (Italy) and Mazarek International Academy of Arts (Prague), recently he was also awarded the Golden Medal (highest honor) of Franz Kafka. One can be truly surprised to learn, that Kalinauskas’ first profession was that of a theater director, he staged over 60 theater plays and recently began to work with films as well. From the very childhood, the artist felt an unstoppable urge, the passionate call towards the scrupulous study of the man, the world and the universe overall. And this particular call, this inner voice, forced Kalinauskas to further pursue the very depths of knowledge and creation, and to continue his constant inner development. One can almost say that Kalinauskas works in a number of fields – he’s a renown artist, psychologist, scientist, philosopher, director, writer and musician. While unraveling the mysteries of the human subconscious in all its forms of expression, Kalinauskas went on to create and develop his own method of human self-realization: he wrote a number of books dealing with the issue of the man and the universe, and became the member of the unique musical duet - “Duo Zikr”, as well, as the art director of The Theater of Vocal Improvisations “Fire Voices”.

Since 1996 Igor Kalinauskas dwells in the realm of the arts, it is in the art work’s creation that he found his means of expression – here he flirts with the innate human element, and it is here in his art, that he dares to question the very concept of reality itself. Although Kalinauskas creates deep psychological portraits, which unveil the inner nature of the human being, as well as the post-symbolist landscapes, yet non the less it was his abstract body of works which brought the greatest international fame to the artist. Among such abstract works are series: “The Solitude”, “Wondering Stars”, “The Forces of Nature”, “The Mystery of Fire”, The Mystery of Time”, “The Last Supper” as well as particular paintings such as “The Altar”, “The Depth”, “The Primordial”, “May your will be done” and others. The artist remains ever active, for him action is life. Kalinauskas works abroad on numerous private commissions, just in Europe alone his artworks were represented in more then 35 solo art shows, and more then 900 paintings are already in private collections world-wide: Canada, Great Britain, USA, Europe, Russia etc. The artist has a long list of major international solo shows which entrance the viewer with their epic contemporary language of the conceptual and the pristine. Igor Kalinauskas is also an author of more then 16 books and an international musician, he crossed the world many times over with his concerts, recorded over 22 music records (CDs) as well as, numerous Music Videos.

The personal philosophy and an inner wisdom of the artist is truly striking. When asked about his achievements Igor Kalinauskas states:

"I'm often asked: "What do you like to achieve in your artistic creativity?" or "What is your maximum project?" I answer - Nothing. Nothing. Maximum - it is minimum. I just enjoy the process. And if I stop getting pleasure from creativity, I will consider that I have no right to take it up."

Christina Katrakis MFA (PhD), contemporary international art critic and curator, art historian,
professor of Fine Arts and Art History, president of the International Academy of Arts,
UN ambassador of good will in the field of Culture, USA.