ArtBay Gallery is pleased to present, Holidays In My Head, an exhibition of new paintings by ILYA Volykhine. On view in the Front Room Gallery from 2 - 30 June 2022, this marks the artist's 7th solo exhibition with Artbay. Widely recognised for his distinctive combination of figurative painting and surrealist abstraction, his work has been represented by Artbay Gallery since 2012.
Born in 1967 behind the iron curtain, Volykhine spent the duration of his youth at a time when Socialist realism was the predominant aesthetic. His enigmatic compositions however employ a personal iconography of human characters all within familiar-looking but imaginary settings. They frequently incorporate references to the creative process, music, and everyday life, places he's been or seen but ultimately eschew any fixed meaning.
This exhibition focuses on the places he'd travel in his head whilst confined for two years of the pandemic and lockdowns.
Volykhine’s work is held in both private and corporate collections worldwide and most recently features in the new QT Hotel Rooftop Bar in Auckland Viaduct, the new EBB Hotel in Dunedin, and a large commission in the New Zealand 2021 Home of the Year.