Hilly countryside of Tushia, fields, forests, and full-flowing rivers of the Moscow region perfectly connected in two medieval towns of the Chiminsky mountains, was once inhabited by the Etruscans, Romans, Goths, Longobards, Franks, and Normans.
Ercole Ercoli lives and works in Vallerano, where he was born. Sergey Dronov lives and works in Vinanello, where he moved from Moscow. Only a few miles of picturesque lands are separated from each other. As pleasing to the eye are olive groves, vineyards, chestnut, and walnut trees, which carry the life juices and richness of this unique land.
Colleagues-painters met in this wonderful province, between Rome and Viterbo, whose unique landscape emphasizes the beauty and rigor of historical and architectural monuments; palaces and gardens. The artists are fond of nature surrounding them: copses, groves, forests, lakes, springs, and rivers of this generous land inhabited by proud and hardworking inhabitants. Thanks to the cultural association “L’Albatros,” the acquaintance of the two artists began with participation in such important exhibitions as “Leo Tolstoy,” “European Union,” “Under the Sky of Italy,” “Divine Comedy of Dante,” as well as in other Roman exhibitions that were held in the library “Vallechileano” and the Russian Center for Science and Culture.
They confront each other with the themes of depicting reality, feelings, and poetry, but respecting the cultural substratum of each, without infecting each other with their creative influence.
Awareness of the quality of this substrate is expressed in an increased appreciation of the pictorial language and visual content.
If E. Ercoli immerses in her work in plant forms, both in still lives and in the landscapes of her Native Land, which received inspiration from the style of neo-impressionism, S. Dronov builds relations between his academic formation in Moscow, his homeland, and classical insights dissolved in modern post-surrealism.
Between these two artists, there was a kind of creative dialogue, which is not a competition, but a kind of stimulus in the desire to do something better within the framework of their commonwealth. Moreover, the results are obvious.
Today, these two artists, born in contexts and cultures so remote from each other, claim to be known and appreciated by the wider public not only in Europe, but also throughout the world. The cultural association “L’Albatros” strives to accompany and support these artists on the path of their creative growth and to provide them with all possible assistance in preparing for their personal exhibitions in Italy, Russia, and the United States of America.
ARTISTNY EDITORIAL
BY REBECCA
June 4th, 2017 9:00 AM
Available in PDF: Article about Colleagues painters Ercole Ercoli and Sergey Dronov