Since that time Igor Smirnov gained world wide recognition with his paintings displayed in museums and galleries in the United States, Europe, Asia and Russia. The relationships between time and space always were at the forefront of philosophical thinking and found expression in visual art. It may be said that the twentieth century had indeed manifested an insatiable thirst for the interpretations and reinterpretations of time. There were a number of attempts of reformation, transformation and even refutation of the basic concepts of art in the search for the fourth dimension reverberating echoes of time in visual art. Following the new theories of philosophy, physics and psychology which appeared in this century, the visual art created a new language for the representation of time. Thus, time became not only the key point of life but of art as well, allowing us to evaluate art in the light of its relationship to the temporality.

In the beginning of the third millennium the tendency to immerse in fin du siecle esthetics became very popular and is reflected in the content of visual art. The apocalyptic nature of this era creates emotional stress and the feeling of instability. The artist finds himself in an almost unforeseeable situation, when everything in his world tumbles out of control without stability in a state of permanent flux. Moreover, the course of global events and the radical increase of tempo of modern life lead to the transformation of consciousness and the alteration of the processes of perception, evaluation and interpretation of art by the audience. As a result, in order to find a place in the context of modern art, the artist has to realize how he can create the symbolic equivalent of a constantly changing external world.

Due to the desire to reflect the values and ‘realities’ of the world around them, many artists create the art that is restless and momentary. However, if we examine the artworks that are considered to be masterpieces, such as the art of Italian Renaissance, Classicism, and the art of the beginning of the twentieth century, we will find that they always reflect eternal values along with the concrete moments of time and life. The act of evaluation and interpretation of art, and by extension the creation of great art, is not a momentary act of observation and passive acceptance.

It is an active immersion in the art work and in your own subconscious. Contemporary art demands the same involvement and, in fact, is even more pretentious in its own way than already culturally assimilated old masters, but the technique for evaluation is absolutely different. The contemporary art viewer is brought up in a computerized, technological environment and is familiar with virtual space from his childhood. The viewer is accustomed to deal with symbolic forms through the associative thought process as well as through the modern technology. In the modern world art and technology are mixed and coexist together. The audience of the twenty first century can perceive art in both ways – as a piece of art and as a source of information presented in symbolic form. Symbolic art of Igor Smirnov expresses this new tendency of art perception and interpretation. At the same time it is focused on eternal values and affects the emotional and mental state of the viewer through the process of associative thinking.