His works combine abstraction and figuration in multilayered portraits that capture movement and the constant flow of time, resisting adherence to a single moment.
[2] The artist recalls these works as being “the usual official drivel about workers and peasants engaged in heroic toil, done up in the style of the time, both bombastic and sentimental, heavy on dappled sunlight and Popeye-esque forearms.”[2] When Kanevsky was fifteen, his family left Russia and moved to Vilnius in Lithuania.
[2] Observing this style of artwork proved to be eye opening to Kanevsky and he realized “that paintings could find the reason for their existence within themselves rather than being merely a decoration of a propaganda tool.”[2] Initially, he studied theoretical mathematics at the Vilnius University in Lithuania.
His compositions frequently juxtapose static, monumental objects with quick, expressive brushstrokes in order to suggest that people are defined by their motion and actions, rather than their physical place in the world.
[5] Kanevsky's figures inhabit mysterious landscapes and ambiguous architecture that shift between the recognizable world and pure form and color.<[5] Nudes feature prominently in his oeuvre and are often depicted bathing, lying on beds or floors, or boldly facing the viewer.
Rather, the titles function as tools, “mostly to accomplish certain precise emotional climates [rather] than to tell a story.”[4] Kanevsky feels a deep connection to art history, especially to the masters of portraiture Rembrandt and Velázquez.
Meanwhile, the roots of Kanevsky's color can be found in the works of Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, and Richard Diebenkorn, among others.
[3] Aside from admiring the paintings of American and European masters, the artist draws inspiration from the work of literary greats, such as Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, Wallace Stevens, and Ezra Pound.