If I am awarded the Dover Prize bursary, I will dedicate this opportunity to a focused investigation of Dover as both a real landscape and a metaphysical presence — a place defined not just by history or geography, but by its enduring role as a threshold.
The funding would allow me to step away from other work commitments and immerse myself fully in this research. I will conduct site-based studies across Dover’s layered terrains — from the echo-sound mirrors and Fan Bay Shelter to everyday streets, railway lines, ruins, and cliffs. These locations carry not only visible history, but a quiet, persistent sense of presence. I am interested in tracing the metaphysical charge of Dover — not only in its monuments, but in its silences, weather, materials, and people.
I will continue to experiment with chalk collected from the cliffs, which I use as both drawing material and pigment — not for its aesthetic alone, but for its symbolic weight, its memory. The bursary will support the creation of new works in drawing, pigment, and mixed media, as well as text and visual notes that reflect the layered experience of place.
I also plan to create a short documentary film capturing this artistic journey — a visual essay combining landscape footage, process documentation, and reflective narration. In my past practice, I have produced several short documentary films, and my most recent book — developed from a long-term research project — was acquired by the New York Public Library for its Research Collections. A publication growing out of this project is already envisioned.
More broadly, this award will support a shift in my practice: toward a more immersive, research-led, place-responsive mode of working. My goal is to produce a body of work that reveals Dover not only as a historical site, but as a living border — between peace and vigilance, surface and depth, silence and resonance.
Although rooted in Dover, the project’s central themes — threshold, memory, presence — are not limited by geography. These qualities can be found in many places where history and identity intersect.
Darlington, with its layered heritage and evolving civic imagination, offers a rich parallel. I would be excited to explore how the sensibility I bring — a practice of attentive observation and material listening — could extend into Darlington’s own contexts. The town’s railway legacy, its post-industrial textures, and its quiet public spaces hold potential for reimagining how we relate to place not only as backdrop, but as participant.
I hope to contribute to the creative life of Darlington by introducing a visual language that is contemplative, tactile, and rooted in both research and intuition. Through the resulting exhibition and potential community conversations, I want to offer audiences a different mode of encounter — one where landscape and material are treated not as objects, but as presences.
By working with local materials, histories, and rhythms, and by sharing my methodology, I believe the project can support Darlington’s ongoing cultural narrative — not by illustrating it, but by deepening the way it is perceived and felt.
Group Show:
2025 – Royal Watercolor Society Open’25
2024 – Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, UK
2024 – INPRINT, The Old Parcels Office Artspace’s inaugural printmaking exhibition, Scarborough, UK
2024 – Biennial Prize “Fabriano Watercolor 2024”, City of Fabriano, Italy
2024 – ArtLab, Exhibition Road Festival, London, UK
2022 – On the wall. Summer 22, The Wall Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey Solo Show:
2024 – City Keys, solo show, The Marina Tsvetaeva Memorial House-Museum
2023 – Faces of Reading, solo show, Holybrook Gallery, UK
2022 – Refraction/Kirilma, solo show, The Wall Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2022 – Cultural layer, solo show, Moscow. Museum of Architecture, Moscow, Russia
I hold a Master’s degree in Graphic Design from the North Caucasus Federal University (Pyatigorsk, Russia), awarded in 2008. Prior to that, I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design at Pyatigorsk Art College in 2004.
In addition, I undertook postgraduate-level academic training in Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics (Kandidat Minimum), which formed part of a doctoral research track. While the official status of this qualification is time-limited, it continues to inform the philosophical depth of my artistic practice.
2019 – Shortlist “PortraitNow2019” Denmark, Frederiksborg
2019 – Gold medal The Creative Union Of Artists Of Russia Moscow, Russia
2018 – Winner of Jury Show of pencil drawing “Shape and character” Moscow, Russia
Over the past decade, I have consistently created and led my own professional opportunities, building platforms that support deep artistic inquiry and public engagement.
From 2016 to 2022, I founded and directed an independent art centre in southern Russia — a space for exhibitions, discussions, and research-based projects. It was entirely artist-led and operated on principles of openness and intellectual freedom. I made the difficult decision to close it after leaving Russia in response to the war in Ukraine, when continuing the work with ethical clarity was no longer possible.
In addition to that, I have published a book documenting my artistic projects and methods — it was acquired by the New York Public Library for their Research Collections. I have also produced a short documentary film reflecting on my practice during a working period in Istanbul.
Most recently, I initiated an independent, invitation-only philosophical art club — a space for artists and researchers to explore the deeper questions behind artistic meaning, value, and reception. These initiatives reflect my belief that artists must not only make work, but also shape the ecosystems in which art can think, breathe, and speak.
I have previously been commissioned and exhibited in collaboration with public institutions. Most notably, I participated in the Exhibition Road Festival in London, where my work — developed in dialogue with a scientific researcher PhD Jordan Stone — was later acquired by Imperial College London for their collection.
In Russia, my paintings are represented in the permanent collection of Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art — the largest private museum of its kind in the country. The acquisition followed an institutional exhibition and reflects ongoing recognition of my work within museum contexts.
Additionally, the New York Public Library acquired my artist’s book for their Research Collections, acknowledging the significance of my practice as a contribution to contemporary visual culture.
These experiences have reinforced my commitment to creating work that can exist meaningfully within public and educational environments — not only as display, but as a way to generate interdisciplinary dialogue, reflection, and long-term engagement.
My artwork has been acquired by several public collections, both in the UK and internationally.
In the UK, following my participation in the Exhibition Road Festival in London, one of my works — developed in collaboration with a scientific researcher — was acquired by Imperial College London for their collection.
In Russia, my paintings are part of the permanent collection of the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, the largest institution of its kind in the country. The acquisition followed a curated exhibition and represents formal institutional recognition of my work.
In addition, my artist’s book was purchased by the New York Public Library (Research Collections), where it is held as a reference for contemporary visual culture and independent artistic research.
My work has been featured in a number of art publications, exhibition reviews, and media platforms, both in print and digital formats, as well as on national television.
In 2022, my solo project Cultural Layer was reviewed and discussed across several respected platforms, including Del’Arte Magazine, The City (Moscow 24), Cultobzor, and the official website of the A.V. Shchusev Museum of Architecture. The project was also highlighted on Kultura TV, the leading national television channel in Russia dedicated to arts and culture. The segment aired in prime time on August 5, 2022.
That same year, my exhibition The Refraction in Istanbul was reviewed by Gazete Sanat, a Turkish art journal.
Earlier, in 2019, my solo exhibition Sunstroke at Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art was featured on the museum’s official international platform.
A full bibliography with links and documentation can be found on the press section of my website:
👉 andreynovikov.net/press
These features reflect the sustained critical and institutional interest in my work across contexts, cultures, and disciplines.
I am represented by I am currently represented by several galleries and an independent agent.
I work with The Wall Gallery (Istanbul), which has exhibited and promoted my work internationally. I am also professionally associated with Aliona Ortega Fine Art (Miami).
In addition, I am represented by Tamara Golubova, an independent art agent based in the UK. She oversees my institutional collaborations, collector relations, and strategic positioning in the UK and international art markets.
Each of these representatives supports different aspects of my practice — from international visibility to philosophical curatorial framing. This flexible structure allows me to develop long-term projects with depth, while maintaining access to varied professional networks.
Email: andrey@andreynovikov.net
Address: Dlat 4, 1 Gweal Avenu, Reading, RG2 0FP, GB
Local Authority: Reading Borough Council
