bio

My work draws on themes of identity, specifically the intersection of my queer and Russian experiences, as well as childhood memory, nostalgia and aspirations for collective unity and personal freedom. I attempt to balance my training as a perceptual painter with more abstract strategies to create this type of narrative figuration. Formally, an awareness of the surface, colour and varied attitudes towards finish are all important drivers in the creation of my work.

Broadly speaking, the paintings I have made over the past few years can be divided in two. First, there are motifs of intimate queer portraiture in quotidian domestic or outdoor settings, which attempt to recreate a spontaneous, snap-shot-like aesthetic in paint and capture private moments of joy, innocence and desire. 

Secondly, I have made narrative works that seek to process aspects of the Russian immigrant experience, which have become more central to my practice over the past couple of years. This work (which can be found under the Working Memory and Crowd Work sections of this website) draws on memorabilia, childhood photographs, postcards and found video stills that stand for tokens of a previous life, shed and left behind. In all my work I wish to capture something of the psychology of the sitter in an empathetic way.

I live and work in Hamilton, Ontario.