Moscow-based Russian illustrator and graphic artist Alexey Kurbatov shows the skill of an old master even if he is still in his twenties. Drawing from the age of 7 years old, even if “somehow left without an Arts education” it was pretty certain he would eventually embrace an artistic career. Working previous as a textile designer he eventually focused on illustration and now his works can be seen in the pages of Russian magazine Snob. on album covers, posters and books and thankfully on Alexey’s online portfolios.
Marlene Dietrich by Alexey KurbatovKurbatov’s wonderfully detailed artworks have a high narrative quality; capturing the mood of an era or the essence of a person. They look like poured in ink and watercolor though more likely include a digital mixed technique. His style evokes the old soviet sculptural posters with straight lines and sharp angles, especially the portrait series, combined with fluid coloring and glamour features of fashion inspired art.
For Russian speaking readers Alexey keeps an online journal where he writes news about his work and random thoughts. There is where I found out he is a cat person, very committed to work and stimulated by competition, that he dreams for a house near the sea in Sicily, and that Lady Gaga might never be a choice for his famous people portrait series.
