We Are Different, Yet We Are United!
Can a brief formula describe today’s Brest Region as one of the vivid artistic areas of Belarus? Perhaps it can — although it is not easy. For there is Minsk, and there are other regions no less aesthetically remarkable in their own right. Here, we are dealing with values of different orders, with overlapping systems of reference. Thus, it is not about direct comparisons or contrasts, but about the unique coexistence — within a unified whole — of seemingly incompatible worlds, scales, and styles of creative life.
And within this whole — more simply put, within the large, multifaceted collective of Belarusian artists — we occupy our own special place. Over more than half a century of the regional artistic organization’s existence, we have followed a long and complex path of victories and losses. And today, we can say this of ourselves: Brest Region — that’s us; we are different, yet we are united. We are engaged with the Human Being and the world around them; we have reached many corners of the human soul, yet we continue to seek higher truths, testing them through artistic experience; we try to penetrate the heart of the Earth and the soul of the Universe. And if, through an encounter with our art, a person becomes even slightly kinder, wiser, more generous, or spiritually richer — we consider our mission accomplished.
So what is the art of the Brest Region? First and foremost, in my view, it is emotionally heightened — even if that emotionality is not always immediately visible. The nerves located near the solar plexus are, by necessity, particularly sensitive. This art happily possesses the breadth and freedom — within a subtle unity of spiritual aspiration — that only intellectual and emotional resilience can grant. And without this, one has no place in great art. And we do have this resilience. Our art is regional, for it is rooted in the rhythms, colors, and imagery of the land where the artists live and create. One more thing: each artist has their own individuality, but there is no individualism that might lead to false self-assertion or a loss of harmony between Nature and Spirit — and, as Nikolai Berdyaev noted, “to the absence of the concept of the creative act as a universal value.” Each has their own plastic culture, their own intonation, and with a shared worldview, each contributes their own insights — some in painting, some in graphics, some in design, in tapestry, or in murals…
I believe that the newly revised edition of the album “Artists of Brest Region” will provide the reader with a clear understanding of what animates and how the visual culture of our land is evolving — including the work of young artists taking their first steps in the world of great art. Naturally, we have not forgotten those who are no longer with us, without whom the history of our creative Union would be incomplete. Finally, I would like to express special thanks to Vasily Dolgolev, Chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee, for his consistent support of artists in all areas of their organizational and creative work, including the publication of this album.
Mikhail KONKOV, Chairman of the Brest Regional Branch of the Belarusian Union of Artists