FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FENN GALLERY HOSTS FIRST US SHOW OF ICONOGRAPHIC AND ABSTRACT PAINTINGS BY 2 RUSSIAN ARTISTS

WOODBURY, CT - Fenn Gallery’s First Anniversary exhibit, “2 Artists from Russia”, features paintings by Svetlana Rumak and Zufar Bikbov. The show runs from Oct. 27th-Dec. 4th. A Champagne Reception with live music on Sat., Oct. 29th from 2-6 pm is open to the public. Fenn Gallery has assembled an exhibition of 18 figurative paintings by Svetlana Rumak of Moscow, Russia and 12 abstract paintings by Zufar Bikbov, formerly of Kazan, Russia. All artwork is new work being exhibited in the US for the first time.

Ms. Rumak’s enigmatic work is a rich synthesis of her unique visual vocabulary with medieval russian iconoclasm. The canvases are inhabited by humans and animals rendered in an earthy palette, set against very stylized but highly textured backgrounds. Like medieval Orthodox icons, her people have enlarged almond eyes with an otherworldly cast and long straight noses. The elongated figures seem weightless, and float in a spiritual atmosphere of spacelessness, without mass or shadow-casting volume. Also typical of icons, Rumak juxtaposes flat figures in ornately patterned garments with more fully modeled heads.

“Letter from Home” depicts a man suited in armor aside a woman, within whose cupped hands floats a miniature house. The figures’ preoccupied gaze does not engage. The crimson background is over painted with a tapestry of gold-leafed roses, and part of the woman’s profile becomes the background. The layers of symbolism are many fold. Is the man her knight in shining armor and the roses symbolic of paradise, as in medieval art? This idyllic interpretation is undermined
by the presence of the tiny home which hovers, does not rest, in the woman’s hands. Does it suggest the elusiveness and ambiguity which can underlie traditional concepts of home and relationships? Ms. Rumak has a BFA, exhibits in Europe, and is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Tatarstan.

Also on display are the abstract paintings by the emerging artist Zufar Bikbov. Educated as a representational painter in Russia, Bikbov has been successfully exploring the possibilities of abstract painting since moving to the US several years ago. Bikbov demonstrates his mastery of color and composition in works like “Golden River”. The central focus in this gestural piece is a widening band of color ranging from gold ochres to persimmon to burgundy, suggesting an
elevated view of a meandering river. Soft-edged, liquidy brushstrokes in garnet and cream nestle around “the river”. The painting exemplifies Bikbov’s development of a nonrepresentational language to express his fascination with the mysteries in man and nature. Bikbov has a degree in art from the Zelendoisk Youth Art School, has exhibited in both Russia and the US, and is in international collections.