DMITRI'S WORLDS

Dmitri Roslik (Dergatchev) was born in 1957 in Belarus. A part of the USSR at the time, Belarus is a small country on the eastern edge of Europe. This tiny land wedged between the East and the West has for centuries been a battlefield of many a fierce war, but also a crossroads of trade routes where cultures, religions and customs met and intermingled.

A small nation of Belarus gave birth to a surprising number of great personalities: public figures, politicians, scientists, writers and artists. Among them are: US Independence War hero General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, first President of Israel Chaim Weizmann, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov and the founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios Louis Burt Mayer. Belarus is also the cradle of some of the most famous artists of the twentieth century: Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, Chaïm Soutine, Léon Bakst and Morris Kantor.

Dmitry grew up surrounded by unique artistic milieu of Belarus. He reminisces about the beginnings of his career thus: “I remember that my childhood bed stood next to a white-washed wall. If you licked your finger, you could draw images on that wall: clouds, birds, animals and people… Then came colour pencils, watercolours and plasticine. My mother was a librarian, so I was perusing art albums for hours at a time and I kept copying everything I liked…”

Dmitry graduated from Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Architecture, where he took courses of drawing and painting, as well as art history. Upon graduation Dmitry worked for a number of years as interior designer and architect (he was awarded a Grand-Prix for one of his designs in a national competition), while at the same time following his passion: painting.

In 2013, Dmitry and his wife Tamara moved to Canada. Dmitry explains their decision: “Like many of our fellow countrymen we had to leave Belarus because of its dictatorial political regime which, with its draconian laws, censorship and restrictions, makes free creative expression impossible”.  

Throughout his artistic career Dmitry has been working on expanding his knowledge of art and on improving his artistic skills by constantly analyzing the works of the Old Masters (including their books and diaries), by perusing the bulletins published by the National Gallery of London and theoretical studies on classical and modern art. Late Gothics, Renaissance and Baroque are Dmitry’s favourite periods in the art history, although any work of art that is truly talented resonates with him deeply regardless of a particular school or movement it is attributed to.

This is how Dmitry describes his own style: “In my opinion, there are no defined boundaries or contradictions between various art movements, apart from the difference between figurative art (an adherent of which I count myself to be) and abstract art. As with any artist, my tastes and preferences changed with time. Very much into the theory and practice of Surrealism, at one point I was greatly inspired by works of Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Giorgio de Chirico. At another time, I was fascinated by Marc Chagall’s Expressionism and the Japanese art of Edo period. These days, it is the symbolism and the philosophy of Nelson Goodman that are close to my heart. I found out about Nelson Goodman and his ideas only recently but I am greatly inspired by them”.

Dmitry writes poetry and essays; Dmitry considers his literary work an integral part of his creative expression. Many of his poetic themes were inspirational for Dmitry’s canvases. A number of Dmitry’s paintings can be found in private collections in Canada, Spain, Germany, Norway, Russia and Belarus. Dmitri is an Active Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

t“Each painting represents the REAL inner world of the artist, and it is the artist who makes that world accessible to others through the creation of a physical object – painting”.

EXHIBITIONS:

Federation of Canadian Artists Exhibition, 1241 Cartwright Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6H 4B7

1. “2022 On the Edge” 20-th Annual International  Exhibition. June 27-July 17.        
2. “2022 Vancouver Salon” August 1-14.
3. “2022 Annual International Representational Exhibition. September 26- October 15
4. “2022 Water Exhibition. November 15-27.