What the Hell Is That

Anton Reznikov is a highly crafted artist, printmaker, comics author, and animator. He is an author and co-author of competitive and highly demanded art and comics projects. Proficient in a variety of printing techniques.

Summary of Anton Reznikov

His works, often created in collaboration with curator Boris Filonenko, contrast Ukrainian realities with the passive gaze of Western society. Reznikov's art is a blend of phantasmagoria and real-life experiences, reflecting both personal and national tragedies.

Biography of Anton Reznikov

The artist was born in 1993. He has worked in an art studio Aza Niza Maza (Kharkiv, Ukraine) from 2016 to 2022. The artist himself said, that his work with children was based on collaborative creative communication. 

In 2017, Kharkiv-based cultural historian and comics curator Boris Filonenko, together with artist Danilo Shtangeev, invited Reznikov to take part in working on the comic "Near Mint." This work was published in 2020 and gained widespread popularity. 

The artist is the co-author of a series of posters for the "Slow Art History" course and participated in the exhibition "The Kiss—Darkness and Light" at Different Gallery in London. The artwork of Anton Reznikov has been featured in the exhibition “From Near Mint” at Naked Room Gallery in 2021. This event showcased drawings created by the artist. 

Currently, he is based in Germany. Every summer and fall, he visits Heidelberg to create paintings of landscapes. 

Anton Reznikov’s Famous Paintings: Exploring the Bold Vision

Among the most famous Anton Reznikov’s paintings are works for his two comics "What the Hell is That" and "Hey, What's Up?" In these works, the author contrasts the horrors faced by Ukrainians with the impotent pacifist views of Western European society, which continues to pander to the interests of the Russian aggressor.

"What the Hell is That" is a comic about militant flies led by a dictator — Moth. The artist also created it in collaboration with Filonenko. Anton Reznikov’s paintings for sale from this series are available on the UFDS website. 

"Hey, What’s Up?" is an intimate confession about the fear of war that takes away loved ones; a story the author created in the summer of 2022 while on a residency in the Irish city of Cork and suffering from COVID-19. 

Among other paintings by Anton Reznikov, the following stand out: “The Landscape with the Hills” (2021), “The Meatballs” (2021), “The Grandmother's Eyes” (2022), “The Story of the Heel” (2022), and many more. 

Anton Reznikov’s Art Style

Reznikov has always been interested in and inspired by reinterpreting the artistic experiences of other authors. As he said in an interview for Zaborona, he was more interested in working with cultural material, with references. In his practice, he often confronts different artistic practices — their form and ideas, which are complemented by his own experiences.