For more than fifteen years, Igor Kirillov worked as a restorer of antique paintings at the International Institute of Antiques. During this period, he restored more than one hundred and fifty canvases of Western European painting from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
The main interests of Kirillov are architecture and painting. He is known for his works made in the canvas/oil technique, in the style of romantic hyperrealism. Romantic hyperrealism combines the realism of the details of the reality around us with a fabulous world of fantasies, fairy tales, myths, and legends. His paintings have complex storylines and many characters.
In his artworks, Kirillov seeks to distract the viewer from everyday life and present a new reality, revealing something unusual — the image of a romantic perception of this world. His paintings resemble dreams and fairy-tale visions in which the audience is always happy and carefree like children.
Artist’s Statement:
«Sometimes, with coming of age, we stop seeing and, most importantly, feeling the extraordinary beauty and harmony of the reality around us. The reason for this is the endless daily troubles and worries for no reason. Perhaps it is just a feature of human nature to get used to everything beautiful and terrible, good and evil, to everything that is in everyone’s daily life. The desire to escape from the routine is common for many of us with rare exceptions.
My works should show children’s emotions through painting. The main task of my works is to express those emotions that make life brighter and happier.»
