In his first period Cherednichenko was more focused on narrative, ‘romantic’ paintings, capturing moments of his life with wife. But abstraction was really attractive. Narratives were replaced with impressions, impressions with forms and colors. At that time the artist was mostly inspired with his ‘teachers’ from art — Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Felix Vallotton, Salvador Dali and from Christian theologу — Dionysius the Areopagite, Thomas Aquinas, Augustinus Sanctus.
The turning point in Nikolay’s art has become exhibitions in Australia (1995) and Switzerland (1997). In Perth, Sydney and Melbourne Cherednichenko has visited aboriginal art museums and was astonished with powerful and exquisite coloristics. Nikolay has visited the national museum in Bazel and watched with his own eyes the works of Picasso, Matisse and Vallotton. After these journeys Cherednichenko gets more into conceptualism. One can also now notice the echoes of ‘aboriginal experiences’.
The artist admits that almost never creates the idea for painting beforehand, everything happens in the very moment of doing. Abstraction gives freedom to try things out, improvise, look for meanings as in the process so after the ending of work: