Sylvester Stallone unveiled his artwork at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia and admitted to reporters that he is a “better painter than an actor”.
“I think I’m a much better painter than an actor,” Stallone said. “It’s much more personal and I’m allowed to just do what I want to do. Quite often in acting you have to play a certain part, you cannot speak as much as you want to speak. I suppose the heroes don’t talk much, you have to be very stoic.”
The exhibition, “Sylvester Stallone. Art. 1975-2013”, displays many of Stallone’s paintings he created over the past four decades. The 67-year-old, and Oscar nominee, studied art before he started his career acting. His most popular films are the “Rocky” series, “Rambo”, “The Expendables”, and his most recent movie, “The Escape Plan”.
Some Russian politicians objected to the museum displaying the art of an American, especially Stallone who played the anti-Russian character in “Rambo”. However, Vladmiri Gusev, the museum’s director spoke highly of Stallone’s work. Gusev said Stallone’s paintings “show the character of a passionate man” and were not “the work of an amateur”. “This is a real artist,” he said. “The Russian museum does not show weak artists.”
The museum’s website explains Stallone’s art and why he paints what he does.
The thing one most needs in order to interpret Stallone’s work is to understand that they arise out of an inner necessity that stems from when the amount of accumulated knowledge, sensations and feelings demand to be materialized and transitioned to a new reality. Painting, according to Stallone, is the fastest and most exact way to process and translate your subconscious.
This is not the first time Stallone has shown off his artistic side. He also held exhibitions in Switzerland and Miami. The current exhibit in St. Petersburg, Russia will continue through January 13, 2014.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
