Vlad at Erarta

Today the Erarta Galleries London at 8 Berkeley Street opened Vladimir Ovchinnikov: New & Recent Work, which runs until 7 January. This Surrealist painter is hailed as "one of the most significant artists to emerge from St. Petersburg during the Soviet era". He looks like the poor man's Beryl Cook to me. One of his claims to fame is that an exhibition he co-organized at the Hermitage Museum in 1964 was closed down by the KGB. A nonconformist! Above is his The Illusionist (2011). Click the title link for more information.