Sergey Dyomin (1974) - Horseman III

BIOGRAPHY
Sergejs Djomins was born on April 19, 1974, in Rīga, Latvia, to lawyer Aleksandrs Djomins and economist Ludmila Djomina. The greatest impression in Sergejs’ life was left by his grandfather, Anatolijs, who was a career military officer. Sergejs warmly remembers visiting his grandfather, particularly during the summer, when he could run free in the man’s little garden in Ziepniekkalns.
Sergejs remembers: “I started to go to school at age seven. It was a school for children with special needs, kids with physical and mental disorders. I had been diagnosed with scoliosis, and my parents were told to send me to a boarding school, where I would get all of the necessary assistance. I spent three years there. None of the treatments helped, but I enjoyed myself. I was the best student and athlete, and we were fed very well. At the age of 10, I returned to Rīga and went to a normal high school. I was very disappointed to find that I was among the worst students there. By my graduation in 1991, however, my grades were normal. I was interested in history, so I entered the University of Latvia’s Faculty of History and Philosophy. After four years, I didn’t want to pursue a master’s degree, and there wasn’t much of a chance to find a job, because there is still aesthetic racism in Latvia. Who would offer a job that would be tempting to an ambitious 21-year-old? History was no longer of that much interest to me, and I didn’t think that it was the only possibility in life. The financial situation of my parents allowed me to continue my studies, and I chose to become a jeweller. Those were my first steps in the colourful world of art. I was truly excited by art. A girl told me that I should enter the Academy of Art. I made the choice and didn’t enter the academy. I had to go to preparatory classes to learn to draw. I met alcohol, nicotine and my future wife. She’s had the greatest impression on my life and work. She’s always supported me, and she’s always believed in my talent even when no one else agreed.

Noticeable awards:
2013 Saatchi Gallery Online Competition laureate for the painting Blue Monkey
2010 Saatchi Gallery Online Competition laureate for the painting Singer, Arbeit macht frei
2010 2nd place in Gallery Art & Escape competition Cross my Art, London, United Kingdom
2009 Saatchi Gallery Online Competition laureate for the painting Boris & Gleb

Horseman - 1 (part of Horseman series) ; Oil on Canvas - 24x17 cm ; 2012

Within Sergey Dyomin’s artistic oeuvre, we can also see personalities who resemble Dyomin himself. Usually, they are featured in down-to-earth domestic scenes, but the painting Horse (2003) is an exception. This relates to tradition. The rider is Dyomin’s spiritual doppelganger. He appears, sitting on a blanket of stars of the black & white donkey. The rider is poised to strike with a spiked club, as if he’s clasping a spiked club à la Morgenstern or “morning star”. (What beautiful names Germans give to weapons!) The club is heavy; the rider is barely able to keep his balance, and prevent himself from toppling backwards onto the ground. This is no dream Désiré from Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty, where the kiss of a prince brings spring and love, and happiness. In all probability, it embodies the transformation of Saint George, who, on this green land, is continuing the never-ending battle against the force of darkness, which was once struck down from Heaven by Archangel Michael. However, the holy gesture of God made from beyond the clouds, such as we see in icons, is absent here. The horse has been transformed into a dystrophic animal with thin mosquito’s legs, while the youth has been abandoned naked without armour, without a nimbus, and a cape flapping with heavenly inspiration. What he does have is a black Arabian beard. It could be that this allusion to the Arabian world is a misleading gambit, camouflage or fake news to draw attention away from Catholic Psalm 50 “To Archangel Saint Michael” and hide the Old Believers’ prayer: “Strengthen me, O God, for a tumultuous battle!”¹

Dyomin considers himself to be an atheist, who is captivated by the refined picturesque quality of ancient Russian sacral art. One needs to remember that Dyomin’s forebears included Great Russians and farmers from the Pskov area. His great-great-grandmother on his mother’s side was a travelling gypsy, who died during childbirth. As such, gypsies are unfathomable. Some of them beguile horses.

Further artwork by the artist can be looked at at SaatchiArt, fineartamerica webpages, as well as his Instagram.