What does the viewer encounter when contemplating printed (here I include all types of duplicating techniques from polygraphic to photographic ones) graphic production? The answer is, magic of technological processes through which this or that artistic or handicraft result is achieved. Technology becharms the viewer, and even more so the performer or the artist, often leading him away from the way of expressive, i.e. withdrawing from the aim of any creativity and directing him to the way of implementing and graphics where more attention is paid and more significance is given to all kinds of techniques and technical tricks. This situation where blurring of boundaries between craft and creativity occurs is quite actual nowadays. And not because it is difficult today to define the object of art by itself, but because interest is renewing toward the object of painting, sculpture, graphic arts, toward traditional unity of text and expression, form and subject matter. To me, Vladimir Martynov’s works are at that formative stage of this new traditional art which offers us new possibility to contemplate an object created by an artist. Even though sometimes certain awkwardness arises from his almost unnatural objects, it disappears as soon as you go deeper in perception of depiction itself, which through its pulsation is pulling you in like an abyss, convincing you of decision’s correctness.
Martynov is one of the few artists who, having started to work in painting and graphics in the already distant eighties, still remains true to his aims and artistic goals.
He went a long way searching and wishing to unite the notion of the world perception’s structural properties and graphical surface. It was a difficult passage from simplified curvilinear and rectilinear forms with almost open color zones to nowadays penetration into chaotic and tinkling world-structure, almost overwhelming in its precision, in all its indeterminacy, extent and multilayered arrangement. It is amazing, but this artist proved yet once again that the intuitive way of creativity follows in parallel to today’s philosophical theories and political practices regarding understanding chaos in the world and controlling it, and it is yet to be seen who will provide us a more exact answer to that.

Valery Orlov

Moscow

June 9 2009