“Why red? For me it is the blood flowing through the whole body, it is the animal drive for life, the omnipresent force of the physical that dominates all other forms of expression, such as those of the soul, of the spiritual or thought. This is how Sergey Kononov, a 21-year-old Ukrainian prodigy, introduces his recent work, exhibited from May 26 to July 14 at the Galerie Lazarew in Paris. Through a gallery of striking portraits, between realism and neo-expressionism, he relentlessly depicts the pivotal age of the young adult. Barely out of adolescence, his characters seek to assert themselves but are still the products of all the external pressures - family, school, peers, leisure activities, sport, etc., which urge them to be the best to face a world. difficult. What is growing up? This is the central question of his work. Sergei was hesitant, moreover, for the title of the exhibition, with one of those Russian words which have no equivalent in French and which could be translated as: "I am not the one you want me to be". His gaze on the youth he depicts is both tender and acerbic. The presence of dogs is not due to chance; for him, this youth leads a life close to those stray dogs that inhabit the Ukrainian streets: they know how to defend themselves and meet their basic needs, but are not interested in what can uplift their soul. The painting “Five Open Mouths” (2 dogs and 3 haggard-looking children) speaks of this animality, which is expressed in isolation and shows the dismay of young people in the face of a world of possibilities which they do not know what to do with. Sergei invites us to visit his gallery of portraits (especially the ones with the tightest framing) as we would visit a zoo. It is only by capturing the gaze of this hard youth, under pressure, that we can detect a glimmer of humanity, hope and greatness.