Exhibitions
State Complex “ The National Congress Palace” - official residence of the President of the Russian Federation (2025); Exhibition “A Shade Lighter” at the Public Reception Office of D. A. Medvedev, in the SreDA! space (2023); Museum of the Repin Academy of Arts (2021)
About the work
Before you is one of the rare works from the unfinished series It’s a Match, in which the artist explored his own experience of digital dating. The young woman looks directly at the viewer, her gaze calm and steady. There is no challenge in her expression, only sincerity and attentive presence.
The portrait began as a quick monochrome sketch. Everything changed when the artist unexpectedly received a set of pastel pencils. That gift turned a simple exercise into an experiment that could no longer be interrupted.
The drawing underwent several transformations. From a dry graphite foundation it gradually evolved into a rich pastel polyphony. The final version preserves traces of every stage: carefully modeled forms stand alongside intentional incompleteness, most evident in the depiction of the clothing. This openness gives the composition its sense of air, capturing a moment suspended between observation and memory.
The color palette is both restrained and complex. The artist searched not only for the likeness of the sitter but also for the surrounding mood. Despite the intimate format of the sheet, the portrait feels expansive. This impression reflects six months of personal engagement, during which a study gradually became a finished statement about the fragility of first impressions, the honesty of a gaze, and the way a chance gift can alter the entire course of the creative process.