For this exhibition, Russian artist Dimitri Kozyrev presents a new series of paintings entitled Journeys, which are created from observations based on the experience of driving. Using the California freeway systems to investigate the urban landscape Dimitri takes bits and pieces of the landscape that appear on the right and left of the car as it moves quickly forward to its destination while simultaneously the landscape recedes behind. As the moving car reduces the landscape to generalized impressions, Dimitri retains detailed images such as trees, street lamps, buildings and other signifiers of the journey. These images then populate the painting along the horizon and forward perspective lines of the canvas as precise detailed objects. Dimitri states, “Only minimal elements are chosen for my pictures in order to affect the viewer in a matter of seconds; these images must have only that amount of information, which is essential for the message to be delivered.”
Dimitri Kozyrev was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and received his MFA form UC Santa Barbara, Ca., 2001, and his BFA from Ohio University in 1997. This is Dimitri’s first one person show in Los Angeles. His last exhibition was at the Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, Ca. and in the group exhibition Auxiliary Settings at the Cirrus Gallery, 2001.