Vladislav V. Kvitkovski is my friend. It is difficult to write an article about one's friend. The article has to be short, informative, and unbiased. But you cannot describe an entire person in a few lines,especially when the person in question is kind, intelligent, and intricate.This article is not a biography, it is an opinion.

Vladislav was born in 1961 in Donetsk, Ukraine. He left his home when he was fourteen and came back at forty, leaving all his previous life and pictures in St. Petersburg. He had decided then that he will not paint anymore, but that didn't prove to be the case, and he is working again now.

I met him several years ago. His small house, from the ground to the attic, was filled with pictures. He has been living in his own very complex world, in an invented country, which I ventured to call "Vladland", and he actually liked the name. He even invented his own money, and painted butterflies on it. That's how the money is counted, one butterfly, two butterflies...

The quality of the images on this site isn't perfect in some cases, and some of Vlad's works are missing altogether. That is especially true for icons. He paints many canonical icons,they are spread among churches and people, some of them were photographed, but many were not. In the future I hope to add his new and older works to this site. Speaking about icons, Kvitkovsky thinks that an icons is a real icon only when it painted using natural, traditional materials, so he is using gold and silver leaf, egg tempera of the highest quality, and thoroughly dried and prepared boards. He is very demanding to materials. He says that the works of the great masters are great because the mentioned masters used high quality paints and high quality canvas.

Vladislav V. Kvitkovsky is an absolute, one hundred percent artist. He is not of this world. He is a dreamer and always full of ideas, which are beautiful and kind, but not realistic. This is because he thinks that other people's souls are kind and rich like his own. He adores children, and the feeling is always mutual.

But the most important is that he is an artist of genius. What Vlad does with color and image defies comprehension and leaves one speechless. It is a miracle and a mystery, when you are watching as a few tubes and brushes, a piece of canvas and some wooden planks, turn into a Picture.

I cannot compare him to anyone. He is my favorite artist, he is my favorite friend. He is a nice, intelligent, and well educated man. He knows everything about art and artists. During his life in St. Petersburg, he participated in many exhibitions; his works were sold to museums in Russia and abroad. He doesn't want me to write about it. For some reason, it makes him sad.

Kvitkovsky has a very complex personality, which is natural. The more talented a person is, the more difficult it is to understand and communicate with him or her. His mood may change suddenly, he can be cheerful and talkative most of the time, but then he won't say a word for a few days. He has a fragile soul and can be hurt easily, but will not hold it against anyone and will rather forgive and forget. I don't know anyone who is a more interesting person than Vlad. I am happy and proud that he is my friend. I want to thank him that sometimes he departs from his own Vladland, and lives in our world for a time.

Vladislav will be glad to hear from you. You can reach him at

Katryn Lisovskaya

Site Designer