Instantly recognisable, the art of Oleg Tselkov occupies its own distinct space. Although it is possible to trace ⭕influences in the vivid, often primary, colors of Russian folk art or in the monumentality and metallic sheen of Malevich’s peasant figures, Tselkov has a style and aesthetic that is all his own. Even in as disparate and loosely-affiliated a group as the Soviet non-conformists, he was always the slight outsi🎐der. Figurative and not overtly political, his paintings deal with the eternal condition of man rather than the specifics of the post-war Soviet experience.

The subjects of Tselkov’s paintings also inhabit a distinct, otherworldly spa🥂ce. His generalized, anonymous figures and mask-like faces are a portrait of no one in particular and everyone at the same time. They have a limited range of accoutrements: in his early works flowers, butterflies, wine glasses and in his later post-emigration works knives, forks and spades which conjure an unsettling atmosphere.

In 2004 the artist presented a 📖later version of this very composition to the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg.