“The diptych ‘Russian Artists in The USA’ is about the cultural ties linking Russia and America, orbiting around citations from the work of several artists. While the Soviet Union still existed, these two empires with opposing ideologies balanced each other out, creating a polarized world. In my diptych, one of these ‘Towers of Babel’ has already been destroyed, but the relationship is ongoing.
A number of major Socialist Realist artists—including Alexander Deneika and Alexei Kravchenko—spent time in the US in the 1920s-1930s. I’m fascinated by the topics and themes they chose to depict: there is always some kind of social issue involved—scenes involving racism and unemployment, while at the same time a sense of rapture and a certain fear—scenes of soaring American industry, skyscrapers and magnificent roads. And in 2017, the first time I travelled across the US, I was drawn to these exact same themes.”
- Victoria Lomasko