Masterpieces of Andrei Verabyou are always devoted to a Human. To a contemporary, who is emotionally refined and even delicate, to unloved child of the pragmatic age, who strongly feels the transiency of his presence on Earth and perhaps that is why he longs for understanding, sensitivity, love unity (or their illusions), dreams of universal harmony, which is likely to be embodied into his restless soul. So, no wonder, that Andrei’s creative work is so clearly divided into two main lines – stirringly expressive series of self-portraits and closely related to it Mask theme, and movingly trustful in its openness gallery of love-erotic works – the «acts».
Artist’s image in the series of self-portraits is subdivided into great number of various aspects, states and moods. Each of them is first of all Andrei himself, as he was or how would he feel deep inside in a certain day and hour («Self-Portrait with symptoms of decay», 2007, «My Mood on my Fortieth Birthday», 2009). At the same time, all works of this series represent more than just realized in a material and natural for every person interest to himself. We can rather speak of aspiration for careful studying of the most pliable and obedient model – himself – the phenomenon of human personality in general («Infinity in Shape of My Heads», 1999, «Self-Portrait at the Age of 38», 2007, «Between Heaven and Earth», 2009, «Inside», 2009).
Poetic, deified corporeality which is honestly exposed and reigns in love-erotic artist’s works. They are full of joyful and tender atmosphere, harmonic fullness of life, which are usually absent in self-portraits («Kiss», 2007, «Dream», 2009). The variety of Verabyou’s «acts» in the freedom of improvisation, in endless variations of the same theme, that tells about the sense of life and at the same time tries to forget it.
Irina Skvortsova,
Professor of Art History