NK Gallery is pleased to present a duo exhibition by two Moscow based artists Alexander Pogorgelsky and Maria Pogorgelskaya.

Brother and sister, both graduated from the prestigious Surikov’s Art Institute in Moscow and having numerous solo shows in Russia and abroad they are bright representatives of Russian Contemporary Painting. Their sparsely colored, figurative works are typically painted from pre-exciting imagery and become a third-degree abstractions from reality.

The exhibition titled Flesh! creates a dialogue in which both artists aim to capture the short moment of human life and to preserve the unrepeatable temporal aspect, prolonging it to the eternity. It’s not a coincidence that the title Flesh! refers phonetically to artificial light device of a photo camera which helps to illuminate a dark scene and lasts for a small sequence of a second.

Flesh! features the works from different series. Taken together they reveal a loose narrative thread that weaves together elements from our contemporary reality, presenting the vision defined by the quotidian minutiae that compose our everyday life. The artists skillfully use realistic painting, which they ‘ve been taught in Surikov’s Art institute where the traditions of realism were of the great importance. If Social Realism of Soviet Era aimed to elevate the common worker by presenting his life, work, and recreation as admirable, “Flesh!” aims to depict the narcissism of contemporary culture where advertising and mass media images help the happy consumers to identify themselves in the imaginary paradise where a perfect body, divested of physical age plays a major role. Large-scale paintings of Alexander Pogorgelskiy complicate a straightforward reading of the subject matter, while the sequential sketches of Maria Pogorgelskaya depict a subtle female approach.

Maria Pogorgelskaya (1971) and Alexander Pogorgelsky (1980) both live and work in Moscow. They graduated from the prestigious Moscow Surikov Art Institute. Maria Pogorzhelskaya has worked for a long time with Aidan Gallery and had numerous solo shows in Russia and abroad. The works of the artists are in numerous public and private collections, among others the Ekaterina Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, the Stella Art Foundation.