Nikas Safronov: Enigma of mystic Pomantic

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IN THE RUSSIAN ART WORLD DISPELS THE MYTHS ABOUT HIM

ikas Safronov was born on April 8, 1956 in Ulyanovsk. He stud­ied in a nautical school in Odessa, an arts school in Rostov-on-Don and an arts institute in Lithuania. His first personal exhibition was held in 1978 in Panevezhis, Lithuania. In 1984 Nikas moved to Moscow. He explains the abundance of naked nature in his pictures by "exploring the border between art and pornography." More than 700 his paintings were bought by Western collectors. In 1996 a star in Andromeda constellation was named by his name. Safronov is an Honorable citizen of Ulyanovsk, Saratov and Baku and a professor of some universities. He was named the Best Foreign Artist of 2004, as well as a Living Legend by the International Biographical Center of Cambridge. The American Biographical Institute named Nikas its Man of the Year 2004.

He may be called "a scandal man," "time-serving," "artist showman," "Don Juan," "a self-promоted brand," but Nikas Safronov pays little attention to labels and even seems to be willing to encourage them. He repeats the saying that nobody is interested in a man who is seeking a million, but everyone is interested in a man who has found it.

Sitting in a chair in his studio not far from the Kremlin, Nikas is reflecting on destination of the artist. "While paint­ing a picture you should take the best of the man and show this to him," he explains. The task is not to make com­plimentary portraits (something that the Russian press constantly accuses him of), but to show how people could be different in different situations, dur­ing their ups and downs.

Everything depends on who makes the portrait. It could be complimenta­ry, but if it is made by Velasquez, it is beautiful. "An artist always paints for someone, not for himself, like a musi­cian, a director in a theater." It is trite for an artist to say that he is doing something just for himself, Nikas believes.

He says that when he was a student in Vilnius he saw himself in a dream as an artist in his own gallery. He even "remembered" some pictures from his dream that he transferred to canvas later. After that dream he had awak­ened as an artist, he says.

Every day he gets up at 12.30, discusses business with his secretary. Then he receives clients, guests, journalists or goes to his clients himself. In the evening, events begin. Usually, there are 10-15 events a day, Safronov says. "You choose one or two, the first being events to which you are invited by your friends".

In the press, he is sometimes called a typical man of the artistic circle, Bohemian, loving high life. He calls himself a mystic romantic and says that there is nothing bad in "opportunistic approach and timeserving," one more thing which is often con­demned for. These words can be used to humiliate or elevate a man, he says. "I'm not a Kremlin painter but why not become one," Nikas asks. "These people, although there are few of them, are interesting because they have achieved a lot because of their qualities".

He is interested not only in Russian politicians. Usama ben Laden is also interesting for him, as he can be paint­ed as "a villain or a fanatic, but he has his aim". An artist paints the picture of the present, which next generations will see. When he began painting a por­trait of Dzhokhar Dudayev, there were no tensions between the former Chechen President and the Kremlin. But when the work was coming to the end, the relations deteriorated, and many started asking why Safronov was painting "a villain". He says he was painting the person. Although some­times mistaken, an artist captures his­tory, but at the same time he must try to distance himself from the present, Nikas thinks.

It is not enough to only have a talent, he once said. "One should be able to make others talk about you; otherwise you will perish in obscurity". The mys­tic romantic successfully merges his talent with qualities of an experienced PR professional to promote himself. The main secret of his success is that he per­suades people that his works are great. Accidental scandals or escapades work for Safronov’s image.

He also starred in the blockbuster Day Watch and TV series Rublyovka.Live. Meanwhile, the "self-promotion" is being enhanced by his friendliness and accessibility despite the VIP status.

Occasionally working for free brings fame: copies of his Vladimir Putin’s portrait have been hung in every office. Meanwhile, Safronov has a lot of cus­tomers. Among the most well-known "on the waiting list" are Cuban President Fidel Castro and Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Nikas has portrayed a lot of foreign celebrities. He made a drawing of George W. Bush and his wife and received thankful letters from the U.S. president. When a bank in London commissioned him to paint a hall, Nikas was to paint naked nymphs. Friends found a model who kept telling him that she had been Mike Tyson’s lover and showed scars made by him. "I was fed up with her stories and painted Tyson’s head instead of hers," Nikas said. After that he was afraid that Tyson would hunt for his head or his ear. But when they met, Tyson did not speak about the picture.

Asked why a Russian patriot needed a castle in Scotland, Safronov says that there is patriotism and there is romanti­cism. The castle was a dream of his child­hood, like sea and skies. The dream to have his own castle came true eight years ago. The castle needs renovation, but Nikas is not in a hurry to make it. He doesn't even visit the place. "It has stood for 500 years and will stand for several more years". Instead, he is busy building a winter garden at his studio and a penthouse over it. And painting new pictures, of course.