Russian painter Vasily Polevoy is a rebel. In 1973 he garnered the anger of the Communist Party, all over a painting of a chicken.
Based on the Russian children’s story of the Little Spotted Chicken, Polevoy’s painting depicted an old couple mourning the loss of a cracked golden egg. It represented the broken fate of Communist Russia and it wasn’t exactly what the Communist Party had in mind. Polevoy’s work was singled out as “resentful” and “lacking proper ideological orientation.” It’s no surprise that Polevoy immigrated to the United States in 1990.
UNCA’s Blowers Gallery is hosting an exhibit of Polevoy’s work entitled Caprice through Feb. 28. His current paintings combine bright color and fantastical themes with a dash of humor. Now that’s he’s free from Russian censorship, he has created mosaics for churches in Hendersonville and his adopted home of Greenville, S.C. His Facebook page describes his freedom from the “drum of optimism, petty bourgeois orthodoxy” and the whims of the art world.
Blowers Gallery is free and open to the public. It is open daily through February 28 with some evening viewing hours. Info: 251-6436.
Image: “The Carnival” by Vasily Polevoy.
