03-15-2016
Sketches and Watercolors by Leon Kravchenko
watercolor
The FXFOWLE Gallery presents sketches and watercolors by Leon Kravchenko. Kravchenko's work exhibits simple, evocative forms in "Sleeping Subway" and "Watercolor," offering a novel perspective on his surroundings as an endless play of personas and observations. A licensed architect in Russia and the United States, Kravchenko has over 26 years of experience and has been with FXFOWLE since 2004.
For the past ten years, Kravchenko has reveled in the quiet anonymity and community of the New York City subway, sketching the expressions and figures of those he encounters in lively displays of simple human emotions. As he states it, by "gazing into their faces—especially those of the sleeping passengers—one can discover the transparency of their emotions and body language. They exist in a world where they do not have to pretend and where their facial expressions offer insight into their character." Similarly, his impressionistic watercolors capture the presence and ethereality of nature and landscape by being produced in single takes using the 'alla prima' (wet-on-wet) technique.
In championing the fluidity of the mediums and simple universality of his subjects, Kravchenko's exhibition is illustrative of his overall philosophy, emphasizing the importance of the creative and humanistic impulses that drive design. Kravchenko's work is a reminder that at the root of any product or project are people, and it is their unique range of emotions, experiences, and impressions that define and connect us all.
sketch
sketch
sketch
sketch
watercolor
watercolor
Spain
Sleeping Subway by Leon Kravchenko
Watercolors by Leon Kravchenko
For the past ten years, Kravchenko has reveled in the quiet anonymity and community of the New York City subway, sketching the expressions and figures of those he encounters in lively displays of simple human emotions. As he states it, by "gazing into their faces—especially those of the sleeping passengers—one can discover the transparency of their emotions and body language. They exist in a world where they do not have to pretend and where their facial expressions offer insight into their character." Similarly, his impressionistic watercolors capture the presence and ethereality of nature and landscape by being produced in single takes using the 'alla prima' (wet-on-wet) technique.
In championing the fluidity of the mediums and simple universality of his subjects, Kravchenko's exhibition is illustrative of his overall philosophy, emphasizing the importance of the creative and humanistic impulses that drive design. Kravchenko's work is a reminder that at the root of any product or project are people, and it is their unique range of emotions, experiences, and impressions that define and connect us all.
sketchsketchsketchsketchwatercolorwatercolorSpainSleeping Subway by Leon Kravchenko
Watercolors by Leon Kravchenko