Siberian artists Oleg Antukhov and Sergey Bychkov
The creative duo founded their art studio “AB” in 1999, in Tomsk. The company then specialized in creating interiors. Now behind the laconic title “AB” lives the bizarre world of fantasy, turned into the real works of art. In the workshop “AB” it’s very cozy and interesting: an infinite number of tools for working with wood and not just carefully placed in cans buttons, rivets and even jewelry, cans of paint and varnish, but the main thing – decorative panels of wood, leather, glass and metal. “We do not follow global trends, we mix media and volume, young people looking at our work say it’s 3D pictures!” – Says Oleg. The level of fantasy of artists is difficult not to admire.

For Sergey Bychkov it all started with an art school. He grew up in a small town of Strezhevoy and often fell ill with angina. There was no internet then, and staying from school at home, the schoolboy amused himself by copying drawings from the magazine “Fun”. It turned out well. When Sergey finished the art school, he went to Krasnoyarsk to enter the art school named after Surikov. At school he became interested in wood carving. “In our art school worked a wonderful teacher who was fond of wood carving. We were engaged in cutting out of wood. We were fascinated, how from a simple piece of wood born something beautiful. Tree is a good material, warm, pleasant to the touch, and so much can be done from it! We usually work with Siberian cedar, sometimes for a change combine it with walnuts, pear, birch, but still – it’s cedar, the most suitable material“.

About the creative artists. “We are like a battery, where the plus and minus complement each other, together are energy-intensive element, – says Oleg. – I believe in the work we have found each other, quarrel is extremely rare, we both love what we do and we have big plans for the future”.

Usually workshop “AB” is engaged in the creation of three or four works at the same time. One sculpture is born in about two months, although others may take even up to six months. Psychologically difficult to deal with a time-consuming sculpture, – says Oleg. – But for so many years we have already adapted themselves to the manner of one another, and we have the same technique, this is our advantage.

For our creations we use any trash – says Sergei ironically. For our first works we bought all sorts of jewelry: necklaces, brooches … Later, when switched on steampunk, began to buy more brutal things: went to the garage for scrap metal, to stores for acrylic paint. Today, we use brass, copper, sanitary appliances, parts of machines, tubes, bolts …

The plans of the creative workshop – to continue to animate their sculptures, even voice them, because their sculptural composition are always trying to move, to touch, to speak. So, the talented artists want to develop this idea.

Siberian artists Oleg Antukhov and Sergey Bychkov

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