On light and depth in the work of Denis Siniauski

The perception of the multiple nuances offered by the incidence of light on the landscape, be it of natural or urban origin, on people, on objects, is a matter of special attention for artists, who show interest, precisely because of these characteristics, in the results of their works. This artist already saw it, he understood it and he left it painted just like that, applying post-impressionist approaches. This artist is Claude Monet, who carried out a wide series of paintings dedicated to the 'Cathedral of Rouen', registered in front of his facade, seen from different angles and at different times of the day. Made between 1892 and 1894, these pieces were exhibited in 1895 as 'recent works', being very well received by critics, as Georges Clemenceau showed in his article with the resounding title 'Revolution of the Cathedrals'. Similar situations could be pointed out in other outstanding artists, even before Monet, such as J.M.W. Turner, who worked out multiple aspects and versions with the sea as the protagonist. Apparently, in the last moments of his life he confessed that "the sun is God", that shows his special interest and obsession with the study of the impressions of light, placing Turner, along with Monet, as the two greatest artists of light. In a similar way, after these masters, new ones continued this challenge of light in the work of art, giving diverse and novel results. We can find these examples in the works of one of the founders of the New York´s School, Mark Rothko, this time from expositions of abstract expressionism, in the late forties and early fifties, where light arises from within the work, it is not the fruit of a source outside of it.

This preamble, which we have decided to incorporate in this text, we offer as a prelude to the presentation of a new artist on the Canary Islands´ art scene, DENIS SINIAUSKI, who incorporated into our artistic context in 2015, moving to Tenerife from Eastern Europe, from the capital of the Soviet socialist republic of Belarus, Minsk, where he was born in 1975. Denis studied art, architecture and design since his early age. Along with the interest for art, the artist gets involved with the sea, and in this new field he also conducts extensive training in diving and sailing. As a sailing captain he graduates in Belarus and extends his studies at the RYA School in Great Britain. Since 2010 he has taken part in study trips through the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. As a result of that activity and profession, that Denis carries parallel to his artistic work, he comes to Canary Islands in 2015 with forty years of age.

For the first time we met Denis in the first quarter of 2018 during the opening of his exhibition 'DEPTH', dedicated to the depth of the blue color of the sea, which took part at the Casino de Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the first of March. The artist himself expressed the meaning and his approach, which he had carried out in the exposed paintings: "The concept of depth is a synonym to my thought. The apparent simplicity, the simplicity of a beginning contains a great depth. It has to do with a minimalist content. And, of course, with the sea itself, everything that it houses from its surface to its mysterious depths. The surface of the ocean can be very different. In short, this series reflects the beauty of depth. " (1)

(1) Interview with Denis Siniauski, by Noemí María Feo Rodríguez, 'The Belarusian look of Siniauski. Land, island and sea ', in Tourism and culture of Canarias.es, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2018