Alexander Sidorov. Dmitry Ikonnikov’s “sovereigntly”. “DI” magazine №1. 2004

Of all Moscow painters, few could afford themselves to reign in art so magnanimously as Dmitri Ikonnikov. 

His exhibitions at Moscow's most esteemed art galleries, the Large Manege (2002) and the Russian Academy of Arts (2003), not only confirmed that his status in today's art is "exclusive", as a kind of demiuge of Grand Gouache, but also showed what ways gouache painting is most likely to develop, thanks to his efforts, as a medium of art both at home and worldwide. Indeed, perhaps no other Russian painter could have been credited with having raised gouache painting to the rank of elite art by making it capable of expressing widely diverse and hitherto unfathomed sentiments and sensibilities.

Alexander Sidorov
2004