Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    MANY traditional artistic skills and crafts are disappearing. We are unlikely to notice this disappearance until it is too late, according to Semyon Mikhailovsky, rector of the Repin Arts Academy.

    The academy is known as the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Russia.

    As an artist himself, Mikhailovsky is not happy with the current status of Western painting, he told Shenzhen Daily in an exclusive interview Oct. 12. “Traditional culture and skills are precious. Our education system should require us to pass down the skills our ancestors taught us,” he said.

    In the West, including in cities which were widely respected for their culture, it is rare to find a young artist with highly developed painting skills, while many art institutes in Europe have stopped offering courses in painting. “Professional portrait painters are hard to come by nowadays. Many skills and techniques have not been passed on to the young generation, who are preoccupied with concepts and ways of expression,” Mikhailovsky said.

    “Repin Arts Academy is holding exhibitions in Italy to spread awareness of the importance of traditional arts and culture,” he said.

    He also plans to spread the word in the city. “After we open a training center in Shenzhen, we will introduce our institute’s traditional concepts which we have practiced for more than 200 years. We will also help Chinese painters and art enthusiasts learn about Western art,” he said.

    Mikhailovsky sees real potential in Shenzhen. “Young people are the future and Shenzhen is a city of youth. There will be a wider platform for the city’s young people in the future because of their creativity, energy and passion,” he said.

    In recent years, he has paid close attention to the country’s young artists. “I think there are many talented artists in China, but they need opportunities and guidance. I look forward to introducing these talented young Chinese artists to the world,” he said.

    Founded in 1757, the academy is one of the top four arts institutes in Europe. Russia’s most acclaimed painter Andrei Milnikov, born in 1919, was the dean of the oil painting department of the academy.

    The academy has been attending the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair since 2008, introducing many representative artworks of its outstanding young teachers and students.

    “Attending the cultural fair helps us explore the Chinese market and introduce Russian art. Our purpose at the fair is not to sell paintings but help introduce our art culture and improve people’s knowledge of the arts, so our exhibitions at the fair will continue to increase in size and we will also hold more in the future,” Mikhailovsky said.