Andrey Samarin
Archetypal Images
Brussels | Allard 25
January 18 – February 28, 2025
Nino Mier Gallery is delighted to present Archetypal Images, Andrey Samarin’s first exhibition with the gallery and his first presentation in Brussels. Samarin, who is in his early twenties, was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Due to the escalating threat of war, Samarin was forced to flee his homeland two months after Russia’s invasion, embarking on a perilous journey through the dense forests of Ukraine in the dead of night. Samarin now lives and works in Paris, France, where his artistic practice continues to evolve and flourish.
The works featured in Archetypal Images mark a significant departure from the earlier abstraction in his practice, moving toward more recognizable subjects such as gargoyles, dragons, and characters historically associated with medieval armor and shields. Although Samarin, a self-taught artist with a background in political science, actively avoids being overly literal in his art, subtle influences of the war inevitably surface in his work, some more apparent than others.
These elements create a visceral response to the war and evoke imagery of defense and resilience against invasive forces while simultaneously capturing the chaos and devastation of battle. The result is a body of work that is as evocative as it is poignant, presenting the madness of death and destruction with clarity and emotional depth. Even though the imagery of the paintings might strike one as joyful through the colors and whimsical faces of the depicted creatures, they are deeply reflective for Samarin.
Samarin’s creative process is marked by a sense of urgency (hence the use of acrylic paint) and deliberate intent. He paints quickly, infusing his works with an extraordinary sense of movement, energy, and vibrant color. His method is highly physical, as he obsessively engages with his compositions, demonstrating the immediacy and fluidity of his gestures across the canvas.
The rawness and spontaneity inherent in his work are central to its power: each work emerges from a process of mark-making that is entirely unique and impossible to replicate. He compiles compositions based on previous drawings, which also help him select certain colors. Andrey Samarin avoids working from fully composed sketches, striving instead to make his gestures as “radically right as possible”. If a work falls short of this standard, he considers it a failure and starts anew.
“My work seeks to radiate raw energy and vibrant expression, embracing honesty at their core. Through color—which is my main interest—and imperfections of form, I want them to evoke a sense of immediacy and life. For me, these works are about the process, which I learn to trust every time as if for the first time. When working with too much attention to detail, too meticulously, I get lost in the process. If I treat painting like a child’s coloring book, it gives more game to action, more honesty,” explains Samarin.
His artistic practice reflects an intuitive negotiation between the negative space of the canvas and the assertive nature of his gestural marks, as well as between his internal thoughts and feelings and the clarity of his overarching vision.
In this regard, Samarin’s work offers a powerful counterbalance to the increasing prevalence of AI-generated imagery in contemporary society. No matter how many such images are produced by machines, they lack the inherent humanity that resonates so deeply in handmade art. Samarin’s works, with their imperfections and raw vitality, embody the distinctly human qualities that are often missing in algorithmic creations. His art celebrates the human touch, inviting viewers to engage with the vulnerabilities, idiosyncrasies, and unfiltered expressions that make his works so compelling.
Honesty truly defines his work, serving as the main criterion for Andrey Samarin to judge a painting once it’s finished. That honesty—albeit subjective, as he is the only one present for the entire process, from the early composition to the completed artwork—is a cornerstone of his practice. The finishing touch he applies to his works is always the characters’ eyes, which he describes as “a surprisingly scary moment.”
Through Archetypal Images, Samarin captures the essence of the human spirit—its resilience, creativity, and capacity for raw emotional expression—presenting a body of work that is as thought-provoking as it is visually arresting.
Andrey Samarin (b. 2000, Kyiv, Ukraine; lives and works in Paris, France) had solo exhibitions at Simchowitz Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and Korsak Museum of Contemporary Art, Lutsk, UA. He also participated in group exhibitions with Avangarden Gallery, Kyiv, UA; White World Gallery, Kyiv, UA; Art Center “Chocolate House”, Kyiv, UA; and Kurenivka Palace of Culture, Kyiv, UA.