Yuri Rodekin through the looking-glass

The work of Yuri Rodekin blends tradition and modernity, but always in reference to himself. There are artists who paint what they feel and others what they see, Rodekin paints the reflection in the mirror. It is a looking-glass with something of Alice about it and his reflected presence has an air of Wonderland, as well as a dandyish feel from another time.

Some of Rodekin’s work is on display over the whole Christmas period in the Víctor Saavedra gallery in Barcelona (Enric Granados, 97), which provides an excellent opportunity to contemplate the artist’s singular painting in which the human figure is mixed with a personal vision of nature that always appears mysterious and unsettling.

“My paintings deal with things and feelings that give me joy,” says the Russian artist who now lives in Austria, in a solitary natural spot next to a lake. “Life is art and art is life,” says Rodekin.