Judging from the diverse work on Artetazh walls, Primorye is rich artistic soil. Sure, among the collection of self-portraits are cliche black berets, paint brushes and easels, and portrait within a portrait plays. Taiga and seashore are common backdrops. But inner landscapes unfold rich with religious motifs and fantastical figures. A bird nest on an artist s head recalls a crown of thorns.
Angles fly and devils prod in a triptych in which the artist is a fish with three human heads.
Another artist plays medieval scholar in tasseled hat, compass in hand, while in the background, a purple sun drips and a city blazes. Politics raises its head. No Beginning blazes over a faceless, beret-capped figure. Gallery director Gorodny admits the exhibition space, abutting a furniture showcase on the ground floor of the krai administration building, is less than ideal. The exhibit is an overwhelming eyeful due to the sheer number of works and diversity of styles on display.