Born in 1978 in Moscow into a family of artists, Viktor Butko was inspired from an early age to begin painting. Viktor Butko’s early artistic development was guided by his grandfather, Victor Chulovich, and his parents. He later studied at the Moscow Art School, and after completing his formal education, he painted at the Academic Dacha of Artists under the mentorship of renowned painters Alexey Gritsay and the Tkachev brothers — an experience that had a profound influence on his artistic vision.

”I do not put any special ideas into my paintings, but I always try to express my feelings through painting. In general, I consider fine art as a neurotransmitter, which in its effect is no weaker than music or cinema. If my paintings touch the feelings of the viewer, make the strings of his soul resonate in a certain way, I consider my work a success. I think that this is the goal of the art movement that I am engaged in — impressionism. The artistic techniques and approach in this painting are influenced by the Soviet “Severe Style” and the “Vladimir School” — subcurrents of Soviet Impressionism that emerged during the cultural “thaw” of the 1960s. During this period, artists in the USSR began exploring the Russian North and began to practice a more laconic and graphic pictorial language, often leaving the lines of the drawing and intensifying the color. I think it’s too early to talk about the significance of this particular painting in my body of work, however it holds personal significance as Stonington is one of the places where my American story began.”