Still life with sprats, vodka, newspaper and cigarettes. (1966) Painting by Ivan Kelarev

Ivan Kelarev (1996) is an artist and head of the Dresden Art Gallery. Illustrator, engraver, freemason, researcher of symbolism and secret societies. Creator of the art projects "Postcards of the Worlds" and "Black Cube". More than 200 prints of limited prints are kept in private collections and funds in Russia, Europe and America.

Explaining his work, the artist introduced an easy-to-understand term - HEURISTIC GRAPHICS (from the Greek. I search, I open), which is an expressive black and white graphic illusion inspired by visionary experiences. In the world of illusion, an atmosphere of silence is observed, and attention is paid to details.

Heuristic graphics as a form of visionary creativity is a look into the abyss of human nature, resting on the depths of the hidden foundations of the awakened artist's spirit under construction.

- These are my experiences and joys, my fears and manias, my "Daimon", my vision of reality, dressed in spots of optical illusions and coming from the shadow I cast.

Graphic illusions direct the viewer to other realities, the gates to which stands for the name of the engraving. In the world of illusion, an atmosphere of silence is maintained, and attention is paid to details. Silently contemplating, the spectator of the era of high speeds is clothed in the light of the beauty of ordered chaos. Black and white reminds the viewer of a dual world, connected by a special knot, constituting a boundless space, assembled by the mind into a conditional point on the plane of the sheet.

He was the first to give a visual representation of the books described by Carlos Castaneda characters, iconic places, events, phenomena, energy entities he mentioned, irrational and transcendental. The illustrations he created in engraving, like nothing else, correspond to the complex multi-level content of the works of Carlos Castaneda.

The illustrations provide an opportunity for a broad interpretation of the images described by Castaneda, and contributes to the achievement of the trinity: illustration-reader-text. Currently, he is doing a colossal job of creating 333 of the strangest engraved illustrations dedicated to the teachings of the "Path of Knowledge".

He chose engraving as his tool for its special understatement, the harmony of monochrome, the play of lines and spots. The printing plate for the engraver, like the canvas for the painter, is a creative field, revealing both kitsch and classics, as well as Suprematism with heuristics.

The art of printmaking is rightfully considered elitist at all times. The elegance of the ringing of the finest lines in etching and the unbridled audacity of spots in linocut attracts him to turn to printmaking.

Continuing the work of the first printers, the author supports the best traditions of printmaking and the further development of printed graphics.

• Nationality: RUSSIA
• Date of birth : 1996
• Artistic domains: Works by artists with a certified artist value, Works by professional artists,
• Groups: Certified Artists Professional Artist Russian Contemporary Artists