About the Artist

Mikhail Kononov was born in Jekaterinburg (Ural region, Russia)

During his school years, he began studying art a children's art school in Moscow. In 1984, he joined the Moscow Academy of Applied Arts (the former Stroganov School), where he received his diploma in art and design in 1991. 

After his studies, he continued painting in the studio and in open air. His landscape painting was largely influenced by Moscow artist Peter Kostinski (born in 1916).

The comprehensive art education he received at the Academy also enabled him to work as a restorer. He restored architectural monuments (like the typical old Moscow houses) and historical wall paintings in palaces and churches of Moscow and its surroundings. 

The economic reforms of the 90’es in Russia opened for him the possibility to work on private projects and to acquaint himself with different tendencies of modern art. Often he opted for teamwork with groups of other Russian artists. 

Mikhail Kononov loves change, he travels frequently and always looks for new horizons. Recently, he has lived in the U.S. and in Switzerland. His new discoveries find their expression in his works.

Kononov’s paintings figure in private collections of Austria, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK, the US and Switzerland.

The art of Mikhail Kononov

Kononov’s art is marked by an intensity that makes fleeting moments shine. The artist tunes in with his creations and captures the beauty that surrounds us. His pictures convey a sense of lightness. Influenced by his activities as a restorer of art and as a monumentalist, he loves large formats.

Created under open skies, Kononov’s landscapes appear vivid and directly transmit the chosen location’s atmosphere. Again and again, Kononov succeeds in composing new patterns of color and light. His pictures surprise by their depth and impression of space.

The artist’s sensitivity for landscapes has biographical roots: He belongs to Russia’s „lost generation“ whose start in professional life came at a time between two historical eras, and so he looked for and found inner harmony and orientation by working creatively in nature. What counts for him is the uniqueness of the moment. He shares a bond with the tradition of Russian painting – and far from seeking to break away, he looks for new forms of expression.