As the painter and curator Valeriy Valran noted, Smelov has originally concerned himself to be the photographer. "Silver Boy" illustrates it very well. Smelov's skill to resolve artistic problems with the help of camera is brightly present here. In the "Silver Boy," the artist is easily comparing images of two boys, of a real child and a statue near the wall. The composition is built in such a way, that spectator's glance switches from one boy to another, and this movement seems incessant. Smelov is also playing with color and shading, the boy's bald head echoes the patches of reflected light on the surface of the sculpture. 

Irina Korchagina

A fragment of an article for the "Picture" collection for guidebooks of the "Twenty-five"series