Sometimes I unearth artwork that delves into the most depraved depths of human behavior. Sometimes it’s so disturbing, I wonder why I feel compelled to search it out, and whether I should share it. When I find myself wavering like that, I know I have to share it because it’s triggering a rise of deeply buried disgust, shame, and moral corruption that I need to examine. And all of those emotions are triggered by the paintings of A.R.Ch., aka Михаил Сеньков (Mikhail Senkov). Hailing from Belarus, A.R.Ch. paints in a style that resonates in his soul — outsider expressionism — with no message to convey to us other than the messages embedded in our own DNA, begging to be acknowledged. Below, I’ve showcased a collection of some of A.R.Ch.’s most disturbing works I could find online…
There is no agenda in my works, let alone a message. They cannot be current or irrelevant. For me, in my perception, they are outside this coordinate system. But society, of course, always finds its heroes – these are the properties of the psyche. I was not surprised when I felt an increased interest in my art in recent years. People felt the fear of death, and they needed compensation.
Mikhail Senkov (A.R.Ch.), interview
